Do Israelis feel any safer now than they did on October 6, 2023?

Israel’s upcoming general election coincides with the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attacks, and the issues that concern voters relate, directly or indirectly, to the wars this event triggered. There is ultra-Orthodox anger about conscription, an economy affected by conflict, and questions of culpability for the Hamas-led assault.

Security issues have dominated Israeli public discourse for the past three years since the genocidal war on Gaza began, during which Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians.

The war has also seen Israel exchange strikes with the Houthi rebels in Yemen, bomb neighbouring Syria and Lebanon , occupy their territories, and join the United States in launching at least two major attacks on Iran, widely perceived as the country’s main nemesis.

For a public still shaken by the events of October 2023, accompanied by a chorus of public figures warning of Israel’s imminent destruction, there has barely been a day when Israelis have not been reminded that their country is engaged in conflict. Israeli politicians, hungry for votes, have been eager to push this issue to the forefront of their campaigning.

Ayala Panievsky, a lecturer in politics and journalism at City St George’s, University of London and the author of The New Censorship, said national security has always been a primary concern for Israeli voters, and will remain so in this election, with other issues usually taking second place.

“Even when certain parties tried to shift the dial and centre on the economy, or any other issue, it didn’t work. It is too existential in a country entangled in war and conflict, and even stronger now, following the trauma of October 7,” Panievsky told Al Jazeera.

“To this day, Israelis do not feel safe from future attacks by Hamas or Hezbollah, or a nuclear threat from Iran. None of these fronts ended in a win for Israel. Despite Trump’s and Netanyahu’s big promises, none of these threats was eliminated.”

Despite anger across the globe over the genocide in Gaza and unilateral strikes on regional states, many believe Israel has never been more secure.