BEER TUVIA, Israel — The military chiefs appeared on screen in full battle dress, commanding troops, sitting in cockpits or charging across deserts with assault rifles.

The video clip that opened a pre-election town hall meeting at the small, prosperous farming community of Beer Tuvia in southern Israel was not a trailer for the next war against the militant groups Hezbollah or Hamas. It was a promo for how the triumvirate of ex-soldier statesmen leading the new centrist Blue and White coalition intends to oust the longtime conservative incumbent, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Election victories by prominent military veterans are nothing new in Israel. Two former chiefs of staff, Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak, served as prime minister. But after a drop-off in recent years in the political involvement of retired generals, they are back in the vanguard, posing the most formidable challenge in a decade to Mr. Netanyahu.

Even though Mr. Netanyahu is facing possible indictment in three corruption cases this summer, he has maintained a strong, popular base of support. The Blue and White leaders and other critics of Mr. Netanyahu have presented the return of the generals as a one-time, emergency call-up for the sake of the country and clean government.