Millions to cast ballots in election widely billed as the most consequential in Israel's history.
Israel election 2026 live: Netanyahu faces tough test in high-stakes polls
Original reporting
Al Jazeera: read the full reportFollow this story
Earlier reports and follow-ups on the same developing story.
Related stories

Local ceasefire brokered by Melania Trump starts in southern Ukraine
A localized ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia took effect early Tuesday ahead of a humanitarian mission brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump, as missile attacks resumed in Kyiv.

Albanese promises ‘swift response’ on MP safety as he mulls panic buttons for politicians
Senator Fatima Payman also criticises former colleagues over lack of staffing given to her office Anthony Albanese has promised a “swift government response” to safety threats to MPs and floated the provision of duress alarms for electorate offices, saying politicians and their staff have put up with threats for too long. The prime minister’s pledge to the Labor partyroom came hours after senator Fatima Payman again slammed her former government colleagues over the lack of staffing given to her office, controversially asking: “Is the prime minister waiting for something, like what happened to Dr Helen Haines, to occur to my office?” Continue reading...

Australian politics live: Coalition tells Albanese to ‘stop the spin’ on $6m golf grant; Labor promises ‘swift response’ on MP safety
Follow the day’s news live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Political debate should be ‘robust but respectful’, Anne Ruston says A day after MPs addressed the House of Representatives paying tribute to the independent Helen Haines , who was injured after an alleged attack in her electorate, the Liberal senator Anne Ruston maintains that respect is necessary in political debate. What we do here sets the tone for what the rest of the nation thinks is acceptable. There is a huge responsibility on politicians, not to shy away from robust debate. I don’t want anyone to think that we shouldn’t be having strong debate. It’s simply out of control in an online world and we’ve got to make the platforms accountable. Facebook is the worst in terms of the platforms, Instagram and TikTok less so, but still bad. Continue reading...

Macklemore opens ‘Free Palestine’ tour in Dublin
The show kicked off the rapper's series of charity concerts after he was removed from Ed Sheeran's tour for "free Palestine" statements — and it featured Sheeran's own backing band

Labor condemns One Nation cartoons depicting Penny Wong being murdered as Hanson says videos ‘not going anywhere’
Foreign affairs minister says party’s social media content promotes division and violence as One Nation leader claims Liberal and Labor want cartoons censored Follow our Australian politics live blog for latest updates Get our daily political email , free app or daily news podcast Labor has accused Pauline Hanson of stoking division and violence in cartoons showing attacks on the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, as One Nation defends its social media content, admitting it might not always be “in good taste”. As parliament grapples with the safety of politicians in the wake of an alleged attack against Indi MP Helen Haines last week, cartoons produced by Hanson have come under increased scrutiny. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter here Continue reading...

Jay-Z to perform at Super Bowl half-time show
The rapper has been involved with the show for years but has never before performed at the NFL championship game.