IDF opens polling booths for troops inside Gaza to vote in municipal elections
Army says voting stations will remain open until February 27, when the rest of Israel will cast ballots in local elections that were delayed after October 7 massacres
IDF soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip have begun casting their votes in Israel’s municipal elections, the military announced Tuesday.
Twelve polling stations were opened in various parts of Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said, so soldiers can exercise their right to vote despite being inside enemy territory.
An IDF statement said the voting was taking place “under an operational and security cover,” without elaborating.
The polling stations will remain open until February 27, when the rest of Israel votes in local elections, which were originally scheduled for late October but were pushed back in the wake of the Hamas-led terror onslaught earlier that month.
The IDF said that in total, it will operate 925 military polling stations, of which some 150 will be fully mobile to allow for soldiers — both conscripts and reserves — who are stationed in remote locations to vote.
The municipal elections were initially delayed to January 30 in light of the war, which erupted on October 7 when some 3,000 Hamas terrorists burst through the border, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping over 240, mostly civilians.
But the cabinet later voted unanimously to further postpone voting until February 27, citing continued challenges in holding the ballot amid the fighting.
As they remain under attack, voting in areas that were evacuated near Gaza and the border with Lebanon will be held later, on November 19, 2024.
