Netanyahu Lacks Majority, Israel Opposition Has Edge, Show 1st Exit Polls

Israeli voters on Tuesday gave a narrow edge to opposition parties over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, initial projections showed, after decades-high turnout in the country's first election since the trauma of the October 7, 2023 attacks. Netanyahu, Israel's longest serving prime minister who has led the country for nearly two decades, had run on promises to fight enemies from Hamas to Iran and had spent election day raising fears of the strength of Israeli Arab voters. Early projections broadcast by Israeli television networks showed that the bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot, a centre-right former military chief, had a narrow edge over Netanyahu's bloc which includes the far-right.