October 7 Victims' Families Run in Israeli Parliamentary Elections

At least nine Israelis from families affected by the October 7 Hamas attacks are running for parliament in the October 2026 elections. These candidates span a wide political spectrum, though the majority are aligned with parties seeking to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist-religious coalition from power. They cite critical leadership failures during the 2023 security breach that resulted in 1,200 deaths and the abduction of 251 hostages.

Among the candidates are Michal Hirsch Negri and former general Noam Tibon of the Together party, Sharon Sharabi of the right-wing Israel Our Home party, and Shira Shapiro of the centrist Yashar party. While most candidates focus on remedying state failures, Talik Gvili is running on Netanyahu's own party slate, praising the Prime Minister's leadership and his efforts to return hostages.

The candidates state their primary objective is to heal national wounds and restore the values of the state of Israel following the attacks.