With 100 per cent of votes tallied, the pro-Netanyahu coalition bloc secures 53 seats, the opposition takes 48, and Arab-led parties finish with a record 19 mandates.

(Israeli local media)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc on Thursday piled pressure on Arab-Israeli leaders over unproven accusations of foreign funding, in a push to neuter parties that could hold the key to forming a government after an inconclusive election.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role, called for an investigation into allegations but cautioned against stigmatising the entire Arab-Israeli community, who voted at unprecedented rates.

Israel was nearing the completion of ballot counting from Tuesday's election, the first since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks, with neither Netanyahu nor the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot appearing able to secure a majority.

The Netanyahu camp's accusations, denied by both Arab-majority lists, could bring new uncertainty into the electoral process at a time when the threat of a new Israeli and US attack on Iran looms over the region.

(AFP)

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has stated that he held discussions with Central Elections Committee chief Noam Sohlberg and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief David Zini following Sohlberg's request to probe allegations of external interference in Tuesday's election. 

According to the Times of Israel, Herzog, speaking from the President's Residence, emphasised the necessity of a rigorous review while warning against unfairly maligning the broader Arab populace.

"I am closely following developments in the investigation into the suspicions reported this morning. The integrity of elections is a paramount value in a democracy. The evidence and suspicions must be thoroughly investigated, and the offenders must be investigated and punished to the fullest extent of the law," he stated.

These remarks came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political allies accused opponents of electoral bribery intended to drive up Arab voting numbers.

(ANI)

The Israel Police on Thursday announced that it will guard the purity of the elections with the utmost vigilance. The announcement came after the Israel Elections Committee Chair ordered Shin Bet to investigate allegations of foreign funding of the polls.

"Every complaint received and every suspicion of an offense related to the purity of the elections will be examined and investigated thoroughly and without bias. We will not allow anyone to undermine the purity of the elections and the democratic process. For every suspicion of an offense, the Israel Police will act resolutely to investigate the truth and bring the involved parties to justice, without exception," Police Chief Deputy Commissioner Danny Levy said. 

The police also announced arrests on suspicion linked to the probe.

(ANI)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc on Thursday piled pressure on Israeli Arab leaders over unproven accusations of foreign funding, in a push to neuter parties that made strong gains after an otherwise indecisive election.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right firebrand with a history of attacks on Palestinians, went so far as to encourage Israel "immediately" to order the arrests of Arab party leaders.

Israel was nearing the completion of ballot-counting from Tuesday's election in which neither Netanyahu nor the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot looked able to secure a majority in the parliament known as the Knesset.

(AFP)

Final election results are expected Thursday evening in Israel, where neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc nor the opposition - excluding Arab-led parties - is on a path to a majority in parliament.

Weeks of negotiations to build a majority coalition lie ahead. One scenario sees Jewish and Arab-led parties joining forces to oust Netanyahu. Another sees opposition parties that campaigned on ousting Israel's longest-serving prime minister teaming up with him instead. Both possibilities have prompted bitter debate in an already divided country.

(AP)

Four men were arrested on Thursday morning and are being questioned by Israel's Lahav 433 major crimes unit over suspected involvement in an alleged voter-bribery scheme, according to a report by The Times Of Israel.

According to police, the case is linked to the same investigation that led to the arrest of three Bedouin men in southern Israel on election day. The suspects are accused of planning to pay people to vote for the Arab party Ra'am.

Ra'am has rejected the allegations, identifying the arrested individuals as party activists and denying any wrongdoing, The Times Of Israel reported.

Authorities have not said whether the case is connected to the Shin Bet's separate investigation into suspected foreign interference in the election.
 

Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot cautioned against using allegations of foreign interference in Tuesday's election for political gain, as Israeli authorities investigate suspected foreign funding and electoral bribery. His remarks appeared to be directed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies after Central Elections Committee chairman Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg instructed the Shin Bet security agency to examine the allegations.

"Israel must do everything in its power to safeguard the integrity of the elections against any attempt at interference, spin or manipulation, and thoroughly investigate every complaint," Eisenkot said, The Times Of Israel reported.

He added, "At the same time, political actors must not be allowed to exploit the situation to influence the date of the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset."
 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party believes Qatar and Turkey may be behind funds allegedly channelled to voter-mobilisation groups targeting Arab citizens, according to a report by The Times of Israel, citing Hebrew-language media. 

The allegations are part of an investigation being conducted by Israel's Shin Bet security agency.

The report said the probe stems from intelligence received by Shin Bet, which was subsequently presented to Supreme Court Justice Noam Solberg, who heads the Central Elections Committee.
 

Israel's far-right national security minister on Thursday called for the arrest of Israeli Arab leaders whose parties made strong gains in this week's election, citing unproven accusations of foreign funding.

Israel's security agency Shin Bet "must order, already this morning, the arrests of the heads of Arab parties suspected of involvement in Qatari money", Itamar Ben Gvir wrote on X.

השב״כ צריך להורות עוד הבוקר על מעצרם של ראשי המפלגות הערביות החשודים במעורבות בכסף קטארי, ושל כל יתר החשודים בפרשה, לרבות גורמים באחים המוסלמים ובגרורותיהם, ככל שקיימת עילה חוקית למעצרם. מדובר כאן ב-27 באוקטובר פוליטי!

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) October 29, 2026

He was pointing to unproven claims made by several ministers that the parties, who could be kingmakers after neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor the opposition bloc secured a majority, took money from Qatar, the energy-rich Gulf powerbroker that has channels to Hamas.

(AFP)

US President Donald Trump's administration has yet to decide whether it will get involved in efforts to form an Israeli governing coalition after the elections ended without a clear winner, a US official told The Times of Israel on Wednesday.

The official said reports suggesting that Washington favors particular coalition arrangements were "false and premature," noting that vote counting was still underway and that it was too soon for any decisions on the issue.

US President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in "pretty good shape" following partial election results indicating a tightly contested race, asserting that his endorsement significantly boosted Netanyahu's performance.

Speaking to Axios, Trump remarked, "I heard my endorsement made a big difference for Bibi." The US President noted that he initially received "horror reports" regarding Netanyahu's election prospects but observed that the Israeli leader had improved his standing following the latest projections.

Commenting on whether he plans to assist in coalition-building efforts for a Netanyahu-led government, Trump stated, "I will take a look."

(ANI)

Israel's president voiced hope Wednesday for avoiding a second election after a hard-fought vote produced no clear winner, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the opposition scrambling for options and making Israeli Arab parties possible kingmakers.

With more than 85 percent of ballots counted, Netanyahu's right-wing bloc was slightly ahead but still short of a majority after Tuesday's election, the first since the October 7, 2023 attack that led Israel to wage war in Gaza and across the region.

Both Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister who is allied with far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, and Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief leading a broad opposition bloc, said they would seek to form the next government.

But neither looks set to reach the 61-seat threshold, with Netanyahu's bloc projected to win 53 of the 120 seats in parliament and Eisenkot's opposition set for 48.

The final results could still change, but one group which made clear gains was Israeli Arabs, whose seats were set to jump to 19. 

(AFP)

Netanyahu's Likud party claims election was "stolen by Arab parties who support annihilation of the Jewish state".

His Likud party said in a statement Wednesday that the election was "stolen by Arab parties who support terrorism and the annihilation of the Jewish state", accusing them of "corruption, threats, violence, falsehoods and the use of prohibited software" to encourage voter turnout.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc remained short of a parliamentary majority as the latest partial election count gave it 53 seats, against 48 for the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, while Arab-led parties were projected to win 19 seats, leaving the formation of the next government uncertain.

According to local media reports citing the Central Elections Committee (CEC), 93 per cent of ordinary ballots had been counted, accounting for 85.6 per cent of the total votes.

At least 61 seats are required for a majority in the 120-member Knesset, Israel's parliament.

Eisenkot's bloc and the Arab-led parties together have 67 seats in the current count, potentially giving them enough parliamentary support to form a government if they can overcome their political differences.

(PTI)

In the southern Gaza Strip, where Israeli airstrikes are still a regular occurrence despite a ceasefire, residents of the city of Khan Younis were following the results of Israel's election closely, hoping that anyone but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will form the next government.

"All of their policies towards Gaza are tough, but we choose the lesser of two evils," resident Ayman Ahmed said.

Ahmed said that he hoped Netanyahu's main challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, would prevail, noting that he supports U.S. President Donald Trump's road map for Gaza.

The plan calls for disarming the Hamas militant group and installing a new U.S.-backed government. But it also requires Israel to withdraw forces and allow reconstruction to begin.

Most of Gaza's 2 million people remain displaced, living in the bombed-out ruins of their former homes or in squalid tent camps.

(AP)

Anxious Israelis watched election results near completion Wednesday after the highest voter turnout in over a quarter-century, as no clear winner emerged and weeks of negotiating could lie ahead for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an array of opposition parties trying to unseat him.

Arab-led parties made a historic showing, but it's not clear if other opponents of Netanyahu's far-right government would form a coalition with them for a majority of seats in parliament. Issues around the Palestinians and their descendants remain incredibly sensitive in Israel.

Netanyahu seeks to remain the country's longest-serving prime minister. In defiant comments after the vote - which showed his Likud party losing ground since the 2022 election - Netanyahu dismissed as treasonous the idea of partnering with Arab parties.

(AP)

Israel's President Isaac Herzog is known for his unassuming and mild manner, but all eyes will soon be on him as he decides who to task with forming the next coalition government. 

The decision is a weighty one given that partial results show neither the camp of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor that of his rival Gadi Eisenkot securing a majority in parliament.

After the official announcement of the results, Herzog will consult with party representatives and name a candidate who has the best chance of forming a government -- not necessarily the one whose party holds the most seats. 

(AFP)

Results from Israel's hard-fought election pointed Wednesday to no clear winner as a leader of the Arab minority appealed to a hesitant opposition to join forces to end the divisive reign of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

With more than three quarters of the vote counted, Netanyahu's right-wing bloc was slightly ahead but still short of a majority in Tuesday's election, the first since the October 7, 2023 attack which has led Israel to wage war in Gaza and across the region.

Both Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister who is allied with far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, and Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief leading a broad opposition bloc, vowed that they would seek to form the next government.

(AFP)

Mounting a podium at Likud election headquarters as initial vote tallies began rolling in, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared his party's supremacy in the Israeli parliament, launching directly into a celebratory speech that wove military achievements, harsh attacks on political rivals, and an urgent appeal to form a nationalist government.

"Thank you very much, members of the Likud," Netanyahu began, thanking the activists and campaign workers who gathered after the polls closed. "Through courageous decisions, together with the public in Israel that stood firm, and thanks to our heroic soldiers, we worked wonders that changed the face of the Middle East."

The incumbent Prime Minister immediately pivoted to recount the recent high-profile military actions that defined his campaign, presenting a detailed inventory of regional operations and strategic strikes.

(ANI)

Israel was counting votes Wednesday in pivotal elections where no clear winner emerged in exit polls - a scenario that is shining a light on the country's complex political system.

With 70% of the votes tallied, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's Likud party appeared to be pulling ahead as the largest in the Knesset, Israel's parliament. But the long-serving Israeli leader could still be short of the parliamentary majority he needs to govern.

Exit polls suggested Netanyahu's opponents had secured enough seats to form a government. But with many of them resistant to sharing power with Arab-led parties - which may be headed to a historic showing - their path toward a coalition isn't straightforward.

That leaves the country in a state of political limbo until coalition negotiations get underway and the picture of which party is prepared to join what type of government becomes clearer.

(AP)

No clear winner has emerged in Israel's national elections as vote-counting continues, and weeks of negotiations may lie ahead as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, will scramble to build a governing coalition.

The election was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, the country's longest-serving prime minister, who gave a defiant speech to his supporters just after 3 a.m. on Wednesday in Jerusalem despite the unclear results.

With around 70% of the votes counted on Wednesday afternoon, his party, Likud, appears to have gotten the most votes, capturing around 20% of the popular vote. This was a dip from the previous election in 2022, when Likud won 23.4% of the popular vote.

(AP)

תודה רבה לכם 🇮🇱 https://t.co/RqarS9MLoR

— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 28, 2026

Yair Golan, leader of Israel's Democrats party, on Wednesday urged the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot to form a government in partnership with Arab-led parties to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, highlighting divisions within the opposition over such cooperation.

Several allies in the opposition's "change bloc" have rejected the proposal to include Arab parties in a governing coalition, while some have also ruled out relying on their support from outside.

"Netanyahu lost. I know how to count to 120. 65 is more than 55. That's how Israeli democracy works. Period," Golan, a former deputy chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), wrote on X.

Golan called for an end to what he described as racism and fear of political cooperation with Arab citizens.

(PTI)

Anxious Israelis watched election results take shape Wednesday after the highest turnout in over a quarter-century, as no clear winner emerged and weeks of negotiating could lie ahead for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an array of opposition parties trying to unseat him.

Arab-led parties made a historic showing, but it's not clear if other opponents of Netanyahu's far-right government would form a coalition with them for a majority in the next parliament. Issues around the Palestinians and their descendants remain incredibly sensitive in Israel.

Netanyahu was defiant early Wednesday as he seeks to remain the country's longest-serving prime minister. He dismissed the idea of partnering with Arab parties - whose constituents make up 20% of Israel's population - as treasonous.

(AP)

With more than three-quarters of ballots counted, partial results released by Israel's Central Elections Committee showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc on 54 seats, while the bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot of Yashar held 47 seats. 

Arab-led parties, the Joint List and Ra'am, were projected to win 19 seats, The Times Of Israel reported.

Photo Credit: Times Of Israel

France will continue to push for a two-state solution regardless of the outcome of Israel's election, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Wednesday. 

"Our course will not change," whether the coalition led by outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wins or the opposition bloc under Gadi Eisenkot claims victory, Barrot told France 2 television.

France and Israel have had a strained relationship, particularly since President Emmanuel Macron's recognition of a Palestinian state a year ago. 

More recently, Macron announced that France would cease trade with illegal Israeli settlements located in the occupied West Bank.

Barrot declined to say, however, whether the relationship would be any smoother should the opposition bloc come to power. 

(AFP)

Yair Golan, the head of Israel's main left-wing party, called on Wednesday for his opposition allies to work with Arab parties to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as partial election results showed their support would be crucial to reaching a governing coalition.

"We must no longer accept Netanyahu's racist division between Jewish votes and Arab votes," he said on X. "We have a responsibility. And we have an opportunity to form a government of change in partnership with Israel's Arab citizens."

(AFP)

With 60% of votes counted, Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party has 21.4% and Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar has 16.2%, according to official election data.

The count released on Wednesday morning from Israel's Central Elections Committee does not indicate how many seats each party will win in the parliament.

With Arab parties' strong showing in the election and the possible implications of that in forming a new government, Israelis are facing a debate as strong as their morning coffee.

An analysis in the left-leaning Haaretz news outlet indicated an important moment for any political grouping that considers itself democratic. 

(AP)

The Israeli military said final voter turnout among its personnel reached 79.9%, up 6.2 percentage points from the 2022 election, according to a report by The Times Of Israel. 

Voting by conscripts, career service members and reservists began a week before election day at more than 890 polling stations set up at military bases in Israel and at IDF positions in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in this week's elections helped him "a lot".

"I think when the endorsement went out, it had helped him a lot," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, referring to Netanyahu.

(AFP)

With more than half of the ballots counted, partial results from Israel's Central Elections Committee show Benjamin Netanyahu bloc on 55 seats, while opposition parties hold 50 seats and Arab parties 15, The Times Of Israel reported

The counts from Israel’s Central Elections Committee kept coming in early Wednesday morning. The results are still partial as more voting stations are counted.

With around 40% of ballots counted, it reported 21.70% of the vote went to Likud, the party led by Netanyahu, who's Israel's longest-serving prime minister, and 15.72% to Yashar, the party led by Eisenkot. The count does not indicate how many seats each party will win in the parliament.

(AP)

1. Coalition

The parties will immediately begin negotiations to try to reach a 61-seat majority, but the path forward is far from clear. President Isaac Herzog will name a candidate who has the best chance to form a government -- not necessarily the party with the most seats.

2. Minority government

If no bloc manages to secure 61 seats, a candidate could attempt to govern without a majority but rather through support on an ad hoc basis from other lawmakers. In this scenario, lawmakers from the Arab Israeli parties -- whose community makes up 20 percent of the population and generally identifies as Palestinian -- could play a critical role. 

3. National unity government

Considering Israel's extreme polarisation, the prospect of a national unity government would appear fanciful, but it could theoretically create a less extreme government. Israeli commentators have often mused on the possibility of a national unity government in which Netanyahu would jettison his provocative far-right allies as well as ultra-Orthodox parties and team up with Eisenkot, who shares Netanyahu's views on many security issues. Such a grand coalition would also exclude Arab parties.

4. Deadlock and new elections

If no candidate manages to form a government, Israel will have to return to the polls. The country held four elections between April 2019 and March 2021 due to the inability of politicians to forge a lasting coalition. The candidate designated by the president will, in principle, have 28 days to form a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension.

(AFP)

Israelis appear to have handed a rebuke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in national elections, but what's next is uncertain as exit polls suggest there's no clear winner and no obvious path to a governing majority.

The election was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, the country's longest-serving prime minister, who gave a defiant speech to his supporters just after 3 am on Wednesday in Jerusalem.

The exit polls suggested his opponents - led by Netanyahu's chief rival, Gadi Eisenkot, who also rallied exuberant supporters in Tel Aviv early on Wednesday - could secure a solid majority in the next parliament. But whether those disparate parties, which including Arab-led parties, can form a government is uncertain. It would likely take weeks of haggling or possibly new elections.

Here are some key points to know:

• In Israel, voters choose not individuals but parties. Since no party has ever captured a parliamentary majority on its own, party leaders must agree to come together in a governing coalition.
• Exit polls indicate that Netanyahu's bloc of supporters won about 51 seats in parliament, approximately the same as the bloc led by Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff. That would leave each side well below the 61 seats needed to form a government with a parliamentary majority.
• The exit polls suggested that Arab-led parties captured the remaining 19 seats.
• With just under a third of the ballots counted early on Wednesday morning, Israel's Central Elections Committee reported 22.02% of the vote went to Likud, the party led by Netanyahu, and 15.46% to Eisenkot's Yashar party. The count does not indicate how many seats each party will win in the parliament.
• Final official results aren't expected until later this week and they may vary from the exit polls, which, like all surveys, are subject to potential error.
• If the Arab parties do as well as the exit polls suggest, they could play a decisive role in selecting Israel's next prime minister.
• In his election night speech, Netanyahu repeated his refusal to create a government relying on Arab parties. Eisenkot has signaled he is ready to work with them under certain conditions, but that could risk alienating some of his partners.

The polls published by the three major TV stations are now suggesting a slight increase in support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but still leaving him short of a governing majority.

The revised polls suggest that Netanyahu's Likud Party will be the largest in parliament, with about 27 seats. But the broader bloc of parties led by Netanyahu and the bloc of parties led by his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, each captured about 51 seats in parliament, the polls suggest. Initial exit polls had indicated Eisenkot's bloc had a slight edge.

A candidate needs 61 parliamentary seats to form a majority coalition government.

Arab-led parties won the remaining 18 seats, the exit polls suggested.

(AP)

The counts from Israel's Central Elections Committee started trickling in early Wednesday morning.

With close to 10% of the 7.3 million eligible voters' ballots counted, it reported 25.34% of the vote went to Likud, the party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and 16.6% to Yashar, the party of his chief rival, former military Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot. The count does not indicate how many seats each party will win in the parliament.

The prime minister has called on Jewish parties to line up behind him.

(AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed early Wednesday to form a new government after a close election, saying no leader should rule through the backing of Israeli Arabs, whose parties posted strong gains.

"We must put in place a strong government of the right," Netanyahu told cheering supporters.

"The Jewish and Zionist majority must unite," Netanyahu said. "It is out of the question to have a government that is backed by Arab parties."

The speech, delivered after 3:00 am (0100 GMT), was short by Netanyahu's standards and he did not directly claim victory, only noting that his Likud was projected to be the largest single party.

Israeli Arab parties posted strong gains and could allow the opposition to take power, although Netanyahu's main rival Gadi Eisenkot has said he will not form a government with the minority group.

(AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking to form a new government after close elections, said on Wednesday he could work with US President Donald Trump to eliminate the "existential threat" posed by Iran.

"Israel has a unique opportunity with our partner President Trump to forever eliminate the existential threat of Iran," Netanyahu told reporters, after days of brandishing threats of a new bombing campaign against the cleric-run nation.

(AFP)

🚨🇮🇱 Eisenkot: "The Israeli public voted against the continuation of Netanyahu's tenure as Prime Minister of Israel. Netanyahu finds himself tonight facing a larger and stronger mainstream Zionist majority." https://t.co/grycDRhtli

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 28, 2026

New Israeli exit polls early Wednesday showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc even with the opposition, after earlier projections showed a narrow lead for the premier's rivals.

Among the three mainstream networks, Channels 11 and 13 both put the blocs even at 51 seats -- neither enough for a majority -- while Channel 12 still gave an edge to the opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot after Tuesday's vote.

Opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot said early Wednesday said Israel had chosen change after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that he would seek to form a new government.

In remarks to supporters, Eisenkot also issued a veiled warning to Netanyahu who has stepped up warnings in the final days of the campaign that he will attack Iran -- an emergency that could potentially delay efforts to form a coalition.

Mansour Abbas, chairman of the Ra'am party, has indicated that he is in contact with representatives from both the pro- and anti-Netanyahu factions after exit polls indicated that neither camp holds a clear majority to form a government.

"Everyone is speaking with us, not just from the 'change bloc'," Abbas told Channel 12, as reported by The Times of Israel, pointing out that individuals from the pro-Netanyahu alliance have also initiated contact.

Abbas expressed an openness to participating in an administration headed by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot, though he emphasised that the practical viability of such an alliance must first be established.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said opposition celebrations were "premature" after initial exit polls in Tuesday's election showed it with a slight edge over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc led by Likud.

"The celebrations on the left are premature. The smugness of the biased commentators -- ridiculous. One thing seems quite clear: (Netanyahu's) Likud is the largest party in Israel," he said on X, posting a video showing Likud's first election win in 1977.

Netanyahu's main challenger, Gadi Eisenkot of the Yashar party, said, “The initial exit poll results indicate a complete lack of confidence in Netanyahu and the October 7 government.” Yair Lapid, who leads the current opposition, said Netanyahu's bloc had suffered a “crushing defeat”. The left-wing leader Yair Golan said the public had “fired the Netanyahu government”

The final tally is due within the next 48 hours, though an official result is unlikely before Thursday. Even then, the count is only the first step. Forming a government could take days or weeks. Turnout was a record high. It is also the first election since the October 7 Hamas attack, which has been described as the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. The war that followed has lasted three years. It has left most of Gaza devastated and driven almost the entire population from their homes.