There is a fight for a 'different Israel'. It involves ending Netanyahu's rule

Benjamin Netanyahu is facing the battle of his political life, with the man he once tapped to be the nation's defence chief firming as the favourite to topple him as prime minister when Israelis head to the polls on October 27.

The election could be one of the most consequential in Israel's almost eight-decade history, following years of wars on multiple fronts and intense social upheaval which has threatened to tear at the fabric of the country and put immense pressure on its international standing.

But any shift in government is unlikely to prompt a major change in key policies on the war in Gaza or the occupied West Bank.

If current polling is to be believed, the right-wing coalition led by Mr Netanyahu and his Likud party will be challenged by an opposition bloc, led by former IDF lieutenant-general Gadi Eisenkot and his newly established Yashar party.

The name of the political movement translates from Hebrew as "straight" or "honest", reflecting what its leader has argued is a need to be up-front with the electorate after four years of alleged obstruction and deceit from the incumbent.

"You have to understand that Eisenkot is everything that Netanyahu is not," Gideon Rahat, professor of political science at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, told the ABC.

"Eisenkot has lost his son and nephew in the [Gaza] war, one of the Netanyahu kids at least spent most of the war in Miami.

"Netanyahu is a player, he knows how to talk very good English — Eisenkot, his English is not so good, he's quite, I would say, a popular person … a regular person."

That sentiment was shared by one of Mr Eisenkot's candidates, former senior finance ministry bureaucrat Shaul Meridor.

"When he says things, he means them — and he's a mensch," Mr Meridor quipped.

"With a lot of interactions we had, I saw a man that really got into the things, to the essence of them, and tried to solve them."

Mr Netanyahu has only held on to power during this term due to a complicated coalition agreement, involving at least five different parties.

His government has been described as the most right-wing in Israel's history, particularly given the influence of ultra nationalist parties led by controversial ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir — two men subject to international sanctions, including from Australia, for their policies and rhetoric against Palestinians.

For months, the polling data from multiple Israeli media outlets has suggested surging support for Mr Eisenkot.