Government leaders
Benjamin Netanyahu: Israel's longest-serving PM fighting for survival
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's consummate political survivor, is facing the fight of his life in Tuesday elections, drawing on over three decades of experience to convince voters he is still the only candidate capable of keeping them safe. The silver-tongued 77-year-old's security-first reputation was all but shattered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, and his main rival -- plain-spoken ex-army chief Gadi Eisenkot -- has channelled public anger over the failure and is running neck and neck with Netanyahu in polls.