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Stav Levaton

Stav Levaton

Stav Levaton is a military reporter for The Times of Israel
An Israeli Air Force soldier votes in Israel's national election at IAF headquarters in Tel Aviv, October 27, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
October 28, 2026, 6:17 pm
Last-to-be-counted ‘double envelope’ votes could shift Knesset seats, but not balance of power
Soldiers, prisoners and diplomats have cast 430,000 to 480,000 ballots that are only being counted from Wednesday night, but history suggests they won’t break election stalemate
By Stav Levaton
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Yashar party chief Gadi Eisenkot give speeches at their party headquarters on election night, October 28, 2026. (AP Photo/David Goldman; Miriam Alster/Flash90)
October 28, 2026, 7:06 am
Eisenkot and Netanyahu each vow to form next coalition, even as exit polls predict stalemate
Parties across the political spectrum celebrate, even though neither bloc has majority to form coalition without violating campaign promises; most urge patience until final votes counted
By Stav Levaton, Ariela Karmel, Lazar Berman, Nava Freiberg, Noam Lehmann and Leon Kraiem
Activists celebrate at the Yashar party headquarters in Tel Aviv as exit polls show the opposition bloc winning more seats than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc, on October 27, 2026. (Matan Siegel/Times of Israel)
October 28, 2026, 1:55 am
Exit polls show outgoing Netanyahu coalition losing majority, but uncertainty over nature of next government
Likud projected to be largest party; Jewish-led anti-Netanyahu bloc short of a majority unless its leaders violate campaign pledges not to partner with Arab parties, which are set to make unprecedented gains
By Ariela Karmel, Stav Levaton, Leon Kraiem, Shira Silkoff, Jacob Magid and ToI Staff
Democrats party chairman Yair Golan casts his vote at a polling station in Rosh HaAyin, central Israel, during Israel’s general elections, October 27, 2026. (Reuven Schwartz/Flash90)
October 27, 2026, 11:08 pm
‘Traitor’: Opposition candidates face attacks, harassment on election day
Man with knife arrested near Democrats leader Yair Golan; 2 of his party’s activists punched; man swears at father of slain soldier Itay Chen; Haredi candidate accosted, says kids were harassed at home
By Noam Lehmann, Stav Levaton, Ariela Karmel and ToI Staff
Israelis arrive to cast their ballots in the national election at a polling station in Herzliya, October 27, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
October 27, 2026, 4:27 pm
Turnout hits historic high as Israel votes; election committee rejects multiple claims of foul play
74.3% of eligible voters cast ballots by 8 p.m., highest since 1988 at that hour; pointing to Arabs and the left, Netanyahu says ‘they’re trying to steal election,’ while Eisenkot accuses him of trying to ‘lay groundwork’ to contest results
By Ariela Karmel, Stav Levaton, Lazar Berman, Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff
Bereaved families who lost loved ones in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre observe a minute of silence and deliver a special statement at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on the morning of the national election, October 27, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
October 27, 2026, 2:04 pm
Oct. 7 families urge voters to remember victims; bereaved father called ‘traitor’ at polling station
Gathering in Tel Aviv, families of those killed or taken hostage call on Israelis to exercise right to vote in memory of those who can’t; father of slain soldier Itay Chen accosted in Netanya
By Jessica Steinberg and Stav Levaton
Election campaign billboards featuring Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot, right, and Likud party chairman Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside opposition leaders are displayed along a roadside in the northern city of Haifa, ahead of Israel’s upcoming election, October 17, 2026. (Sharon Leibel/Flash90)
October 26, 2026, 6:06 pm
In Israel’s closely fought election, anti-defection laws could shape coalition talks
Liberman has floated recruiting Likud MKs to help form government without Netanyahu, but strict legislation threatens to complicate any attempt to cross political lines
By Stav Levaton
Election campaign posters are seen along a highway in Tel Aviv, ahead of the national election, October 25, 2026. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
October 25, 2026, 8:10 pm
Police chief vows to deploy ‘full strength’ to protect integrity of election
In statement ahead of vote, Daniel Levy doesn’t mention controversial sit-down with Netanyahu and Ben Gvir; 7.3 million Israelis eligible to vote at 18,000 ballot boxes, says CEC
By Noam Lehmann, Ariela Karmel and Stav Levaton
An AI-generated image of a nuclear strike on Tel Aviv, posted on the X account of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on October 25, 2026. (X/Benjamin Netanyahu)
October 25, 2026, 5:36 pm
Netanyahu posts AI image of nuke hitting Tel Aviv, warns of ‘2nd Holocaust’ if he’s not elected; Eisenkot: He’s hysterical
PM contradicts his own recent claims that Iran’s nuclear program has been ‘devastated’ and Tehran can no longer threaten Israel’s existence; Eisenkot: He’s hysterical; Golan: He’s lost it
By Stav Levaton and ToI Staff
Moti Leitner, chairman of the Charedi Public Party, attends an election conference in Tel Aviv, ahead of the upcoming election, October 21, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
October 22, 2026, 4:26 am
Charedi Public party makes unorthodox pitch to voters in secular Tel Aviv
Defying pressure to withdraw from next week’s election, fledgling Haredi list insists it can beat the polls and offer ultra-Orthodox voters an alternative to Shas and UTJ
By Stav Levaton
Ofer Winter (left) at the launch of his People of Israel party, in Jerusalem, August 25, 2026; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to vote at the Likud primary in Jerusalem on August 17, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
October 21, 2026, 8:52 pm
Winter says may have erred pledging support for PM; Smotrich offers him minister role to quit
People of Israel chair clarifies he’s not planning to cross the aisle; ramping up pressure, Netanyahu shares call by bereaved families for Winter to drop out
By Ariela Karmel and Stav Levaton
Ofer Winter (left) at the launch of his People of Israel party, in Jerusalem, August 25, 2026; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to vote at the Likud primary in Jerusalem on August 17, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
October 20, 2026, 10:51 pm
Netanyahu, Smotrich meet Winter’s rabbi to pressure him to quit race; he refuses
People of Israel party head vows to go all the way, receives endorsement from father of slain hostage Shani Louk minutes after IDF says Gaza strike killed her last kidnapper
By Ariela Karmel and Stav Levaton
Education Minister Yoav Kisch arrives for a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the upcoming election, in Petah Tikva, September 10, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
October 20, 2026, 5:25 pm
After national standardized exams showed poor grades, education minister halts them
Yoav Kisch also bars body that manages the language, math and science tests from ministry, doubts results, and says steps needed before implementing independent review suggestions
By Stav Levaton
Visitors gather on a hill overlooking the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, southern Israel, October 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
October 20, 2026, 10:47 am
Despite the horrors of Oct. 7, the political loyalties of many Gaza border residents have not changed
3 years after unprecedented massacre, residents who lost homes, neighbors and family say Hamas’s onslaught altered their worldview — but they might not bring newfound fears and distrust to the polls
By Stav Levaton
Jonatan Urich arrives for a court hearing at the Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court, January 14, 2026. (Jonathan Shaul/ Flash90)
October 19, 2026, 11:22 pm
Report: PM’s aide Urich admitted he kept working for Qatar after Oct. 7, saw no moral problem
Citing police transcripts, Channel 12 reports Urich said he was paid hundreds of thousands of shekels by Doha; Bennett, slamming ‘traitors’ in the PMO, demands that Netanyahu ‘tell public the truth about your Qatar ties’
By Stav Levaton and ToI Staff
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