BE’ERI, Israel — Gal Cohen walks slowly along a memorial wall, his eyes tracing the names of the men, women, and children engraved in the stone. These were his neighbors, his friends, and his family in Kibbutz Be’eri, all killed during the Hamas-led assault on October 7, 2023. For Cohen, the fact that the man who was leading the country during the deadliest day in Israel’s history is now seeking re-election on Tuesday is a source of profound distress.
One in ten residents of Be’eri were among the 1,200 people killed in the surprise cross-border attack three years ago. Dozens more were among the 251 individuals taken hostage into the Gaza Strip. As the country prepares for its first parliamentary election since that day, the 61-year-old Cohen views the vote as more than a political contest; it is a long-delayed moment of national reckoning.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, has spent the last three years navigating the fallout of what is widely considered the greatest security failure in the nation’s history. While his opponents see Tuesday as the final opportunity to hold him accountable, the political reality suggests a decisive verdict may still remain out of reach. Despite a full term passing since the attacks, Netanyahu has consistently rejected personal blame for the security breach and has resisted repeated calls to establish an independent commission of inquiry.
On the campaign trail, the Prime Minister has sought to frame the narrative not around the failures of 2023, but around the wars that followed. He has argued that the ongoing conflicts against Hamas in Gaza and its allies in Lebanon and Iran are essential steps toward a stable Middle East. Netanyahu’s central campaign promise has shifted toward the regional stage, asserting that his mission will only be complete with the downfall of Iran’s clerical leadership—a goal he claims only he has the international standing and conviction to achieve.
However, in places like Be’eri, the rhetoric of regional victory competes with the lived experience of reconstruction. Three years ago, the kibbutz was a scene of devastation, with burnt homes and blood-stained floors. Today, the sounds of shelling have been replaced by the rhythmic noise of construction. New houses are rising across the leafy grounds, and the majority of the community’s 1,000 residents, currently living in temporary housing elsewhere, are expected to return by the summer.
Established in 1946, Be’eri was built on the socialist values that characterized early Israeli Zionism. Politically, it has remained a bastion of the centre-left; in the 2022 election, only about 4% of the kibbutz voted for the parties that comprise Netanyahu’s current nationalist-religious coalition. While the trauma of the attack has shifted the local perspective—Cohen notes that many residents have moved “two clicks to the right” regarding the possibility of peace with Palestinians—the animosity toward the current government remains firm.
This sentiment is echoed by Miri Gad Messika, a third-generation resident of the kibbutz. Though she remains undecided on exactly which candidate will get her vote, she is certain it will not be Netanyahu. Messika describes a vacuum in national leadership, expressing a desire for a figure who can offer a sense of security and responsibility that she feels has been missing since the breach.
The push for accountability has been most visible in Tel Aviv, at the site popularly known as “Hostages Square.” For years, it has served as the epicenter of rallies and vigils. Although the final groups of hostages were released under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire and a subsequent truce in early 2025, the families of those who did not survive or who were killed in captivity continue to lead the charge for political change.
Ofri Bibas, whose brother Yarden was released in the 2025 truce but whose two young nephews and sister-in-law were killed while in Gaza, has become a vocal advocate for memory and responsibility. She has called on every Israeli to carry the memory of October 7 into the voting booth. During a massive rally on Saturday, Danielle Alony—who was herself kidnapped from Nir Oz and released with her daughter in a 2023 truce—urged the public to vote for a “new chapter” where responsibility takes precedence over dereliction.
Despite the vocal opposition and the visible scars of the conflict, the political path forward remains murky. Opinion polls have consistently projected a significant decline for Netanyahu’s Likud party compared to previous cycles. Yet, the rival alliance of centrist, left-wing, and right-wing parties remains fragmented. Current projections suggest that even if Netanyahu loses his majority, the opposition may lack the numbers to form a stable coalition. Such a result could lead to months of political deadlock, with Netanyahu potentially remaining at the head of a caretaker government while the country continues its search for a definitive post-war direction.
