A total of 5,449,277 Israelis had cast ballots by 8 p.m. local time on Tuesday, lifting parliamentary election turnout to 74.3%, the highest rate for that hour since 1988 and already above the 70.6% final turnout for the entire 2022 vote. With two hours remaining before polls close at 10 p.m., participation rose from 66.7% at 6 p.m. out of 7.33 million eligible voters in the country’s first national election since the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
Arab voter turnout climbed to 70% with 90 minutes left before polls closed, up from 60% at 7 p.m. and well above the 55% total recorded in 2022, according to the Ra’am campaign, which said at least 73% Arab participation is needed to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. By 8 p.m., turnout in major Arab cities reached 83.5% in Sakhnin, 79.8% in Rahat, 74.3% in Tayibe, 72.5% in Shefa-Amr, 70.1% in Umm al-Fahm and 70% in Nazareth, while mixed cities hit 68.2% in Ramla, 67.2% in Lod, 64.2% in Acre and 59.8% in Haifa.