Calls for change at massive rally in Tel Aviv ahead of Israel election

By Laura Tingle and Matthew Doran in Tel Aviv In short: (ABC-Australia) Tens of thousands of people have rallied in Tel Aviv in a final protest against Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. The crowd heard calls for a commission of inquiry into the security failures that led to the October 7 attacks. What’s next? The election for the Israeli parliament occurs on Tuesday. https://www. abc. net. au/news/2026-10-25/thousands-rally-in-tel-aviv-days-ahead-of-israel-election/107306000 Share article For two years they came to Hostage Square in Tel Aviv each week to demand their government do more to get their loved ones and friends home from captivity in Gaza.

Last night they came in their tens of thousands to demand an independent state commission of inquiry into how the greatest security breach in Israel’s history, and as a result the greatest mass slaughter, had been able to occur in the first place. Three days before an election regarded as the most pivotal in the country’s history, those attending the rally were clear that there needed to be a change of government, not just to get their long-demanded inquiry but because they say Israel’s democracy is under threat. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has flatly refused to have an independent investigation into the events of October 7, 2023, after thousands of Hamas fighters surged across the border from Gaza. Leaders of opposition parties have pledged an inquiry. Among those leaders who attended the rally were the main rival to Mr Netanyahu, Gadi Eisenkot, as well as Avigdor Liberman, Yair Lapid, Yisrael Beiteinu and Yair Golan. Mali Zender not only lost her daughter Noa on October 7, but as a head nurse at Sheba Hospital treated those hostages who did return from the tunnels of Gaza. “Not everyone has taken…