Israeli Election: Eisenkot and Netanyahu in Tight Race

Two days before Israel's parliamentary election, opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot promised at his final rally to overcome the country's divisions, saying his goal is not for one side to defeat the other but to bring all Israelis together. Eisenkot pledged to work for security and the economy while taking responsibility for successes and failures, and directly addressed undecided Likud supporters, saying they know Israel cannot continue this way. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile accused Eisenkot of seeking a Palestinian state, which he called a "catastrophe," and claimed only he could complete the remaining work on Iran's nuclear program. Netanyahu also published an AI-generated image of a mushroom cloud over Tel Aviv, while opposition leader Jair Lapid called for sending Netanyahu home. Polls show a tight race, with Eisenkot advocating a state inquiry into the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack failures, which Netanyahu rejects.