Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government submitted a bill to dissolve the Knesset, the first step toward ensuring that the government meets its Oct. 27 deadline to hold elections, The Times of Israel reported on May 13. The Knesset has yet to set a formal vote for dissolution, which will trigger at least five months of electioneering and a final electoral date.

Netanyahu's government was elected in October 2022 and given a four-year term, which few Israeli governments have managed to complete. Internal divides over ultra-Orthodox conscription, especially since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, and Netanyahu's own corruption trial have long plagued the government, as has the government's inability to prevent the Oct. 7 attacks altogether. Against Netanyahu are former Prime Ministers Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, running again on a joint ticket in a bid to unseat Netanyahu with a coalition similar to their short-lived government that ruled from 2021-22.