Municipal elections in Israel begin despite Gaza war
More than seven million eligible voters are being called upon to cast their votes in municipal elections in Israel on Tuesday.
New mayors and city and municipal councillors are on the ballot.
Polling stations opened in the morning and should close late in the evening. The official final results are not expected until next week.
The vote had previously been postponed twice due to the Gaza war.
In evacuated areas on the edge of the Gaza Strip and on the border with Lebanon, the election will not be held until November. According to media reports, this affects around 180,000 citizens.
It is expected that overall voter turnout could be lower than in previous local elections due to the war, which has been going on for almost five months.
In the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, long-serving mayor Ron Huldai is running again, with former economy minister Orna Barbivai as his rival.
Barbivai, a former major general of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), is also the most highly decorated woman in the Israeli army.
In Jerusalem, Moshe Lion, the right-wing conservative mayor, is expected to be re-elected.
