Channel 14 airs image of nuclear bomb over Tel Aviv on election day.

As voting continued in the Knesset elections, with turnout reaching a record 55.7% by 4 p.m., Israel’s Channel 14 aired an image showing a nuclear bomb exploding over Tel Aviv. Ben Gvir toured homes urging voters to cast their ballots, while Arab voters headed to polling stations on camels and donkeys.

As voting continued in Israel’s Knesset elections, Israel’s Channel 14, which is close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, aired an image showing an Iranian nuclear bomb exploding over Tel Aviv during its election-day coverage.

Two days before the election, Netanyahu had posted a similar image of an atomic bomb over Tel Aviv as part of a campaign focused on the Iranian threat and warning that an opposition victory would endanger Israel’s security.

Ben Gvir goes door to door

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir appeared in a video going from one home to another to urge Israelis to vote for his Jewish Power party, after earlier calling from outside Ofer Prison for voters to support his party “to continue making the prisoners’ lives hell.”

Camels and donkeys head to the polls

In Arab towns, footage showed Arab voters traveling to polling stations on camels and donkeys to vote against Netanyahu, in a scene reflecting the notable turnout among Arab citizens, which Ben Gvir described as “insane.”

Record turnout raises concerns in Netanyahu’s bloc

Turnout reached 55.7% by 4 p.m., compared with 47.5% at the same time in the 2022 election, making it the highest since 1973. NBC reported that northern and southern areas with higher proportions of Arab citizens recorded very high turnout, while Axios estimated that the increase could cause several parties in Netanyahu’s bloc to leave the Knesset for failing to cross the electoral threshold, and that Arab parties could win a record number of seats.

The Likud and Shas parties requested an extension of voting hours, while the Central Elections Committee confirmed that anyone arriving at a polling station before 10 p.m. would be allowed to vote. Exit poll results are scheduled to be announced immediately after the polls close.

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