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Several people whose family members were killed or taken hostage in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, are running for office in Tuesday’s election, the first national vote since the attack that shook the country’s foundations and ignited its longest war.
The attack in October 2023 looms large over this week’s vote. There are sharp divisions over who was to blame for failing to prevent the worst military, intelligence and political disaster in Israel’s history.
About 1,200 civilians and soldiers were killed that day, according to Israeli authorities, and about 250 were taken hostage in Gaza. Many of the family members of the hostages held by Hamas rose to prominence as they campaigned for their beloved in television interviews and at national protests.
Most of them called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take responsibility for the government’s mistakes on October 7 and prioritize negotiating the release of the hostages over continued fighting. Others supported Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing government and called for continued military pressure on Hamas and Israel’s other enemies.
Parties from across Israel’s political spectrum have recruited candidates from what have come to be known as the October 7 families. Here are some of the candidates with a chance to win a seat in Parliament:
Shira Shapiro is running with Yashar, the centrist party led by Mr. Netanyahu’s main political rival, Gadi Eisenkot. Ms. Shapiro’s son, Staff Sgt. Aner Shapiro, was on leave from the army on October 7 when he attended the Nova music festival, one of the bloodiest targets of the Hamas-led attack. He took shelter in a full roadside bomb shelter and stationed himself at the entrance when gunmen attacked it. As the militants threw the grenades inside, Sergeant Shapiro repeatedly caught the grenades and threw them out again until he was killed, according to surviving witnesses.
Zvi Morthe father of a released hostage, Eitan Mor, is running as a candidate for the far-right party Religious Zionism, led by Bezalel Smotrich. While Eitan was in captivity, Mr. Mor, an educator, founded a forum of right-wing parents of hostages and soldiers who opposed making deals with Hamas and pressed Israel to defeat the group militarily.
Omri Roundsa reserve soldier, runs with the left-wing Democrats, led by Yair Golan. His grandmother, Nira Ronen, was killed in her home in Kfar Aza, one of the border communities worst hit in the October 2023 attack, along with her Filipina caregiver, Angelyn Aguirre. Before October 7, Mr. Ronen was one of the leaders of a grassroots group of reservists who protested the government’s plan to overhaul the judiciary. He said in a recent television interview that Mr. Netanyahu, whom he called “Mr. October 7,” must go. “The word responsibility has meaning,” he said.
Rafael Ben Shitrita former mayor of Beit Shean in northern Israel, is in Yisrael Beitenu, a right-wing opposition party led by Avigdor Liberman. Mr. Ben Shitrit used to belong to Mr. Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party, but left it after his son, Staff Sgt. Elroy Ben Shitrit, was killed on October 7 in the battle near the Gaza border. He was an advocate for an independent state investigation into what went wrong that day. Mr. Netanyahu has rejected such an investigation, and the opposition parties have pledged to establish one if elected.
Sharon Sharabialso on Yisrael Beitenu’s list of candidates, is the brother of Eli Sharabi, a former hostage who was freed from Gaza only to learn that his wife and two teenage daughters had been killed during the October 7 attack. Another brother, Yossi Sharabi, was also taken hostage and killed after 100 days in captivity. Sharon Sharabi fought tirelessly for the return of his brothers. When Eli Sharabi was finally released, many Israelis were outraged by how well-rounded he looked. “I was shocked,” Sharon said at the time. “I was told he was skinny, but I didn’t imagine how skinny. It was extreme.”
Tali GviliRunning with Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party, the mother of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, a member of a police counter-terrorism unit, who was shot and seriously wounded in combat on October 7 and then dragged to Gaza. His remains were recovered and returned to Israel in January 2026. The Gvili family and Netanyahu became close, and the prime minister attended the state funeral of Sergeant Gvili, saying: “Our souls are bound with yours.”
Michal Hirsch Negri runs with Together, a joint slate led by right-wing politician Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid. Mrs. Hirsch Negri’s son Maj. Roee Negri was killed on October 7 in Kibbutz Be’eri near the Gaza border.
Maj. City of VaronCommander in the reserves, is another Together candidate. He fought that day in Kfar Aza, another border community, and later fought in Gaza. He was wounded in battle, then returned to Gaza to fight again. “There is life before October 7, and there is life after,” he recently wrote, adding, “Our government disappeared that morning — but our people appeared instead.”
