Weeks or months of protracted talks may lie aheadpublished at 21:31 GMT

21:31 GMT

Tom Bennett
Reporting from Eisenkot's watch party in Tel Aviv

Image source, Getty Images

The positive news for Israelis who want to oust Netanyahu is that these projected results suggest it will be very hard for him to form a government.

The bad news is that his key challenger, Eisenkot, will also struggle.

It is the Arab parties who may hold the key to breaking the political deadlock. They’re projected to defy expectations to win a record 17 or 18 seats, in part driven by a strong turnout from Israel’s Arab population, many of whom refer to themselves as Palestinian citizens of Israel.

What lies ahead is likely to be weeks or months of protracted negotiations between the parties, with numerous options on the table - but none of them easy.

Could Eisenkot form a minority government propped up by the Arab parties? Could Netanyahu persuade Eisenkot to break his election promises and form a unity government of Israel’s centrist and right-wing parties? Could Netanyahu lure one of the parties from Eisenkot’s bloc to break away and join him - or vice versa?

These are all options being discussed by Israeli commentators.

For a government to be formed, it seems likely someone will have to break their election promises.

Israeli exit polls suggest Gadi Eisenkot's bloc has won the largest number of seats but has fallen short of a majority.

They also suggest Netanyahu's Likud party is set to be the biggest single party in the Israeli parliament.

Official results will start being released from midnight local time (22:00 GMT), but counting could take days.

Image source, Reuters

Eisenkot says initial exit poll results "indicate a complete vote of no confidence in Netanyahu" and his government.

He says that if the exit polls are correct, he will "act immediately to fulfil the will of the people, replace the Netanyahu government" as soon as possible.

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent at the Likud watch party in Jerusalem

At the Likud watch party in Jerusalem, the room is full of journalists - but there are only a few supporters.

The large screen is playing videos with Benjamin Netanyahu and clips with words of support from US President Donald Trump.

So far, there has been no official reaction following the announcement of the exit polls.

Likud, according to them, is likely to be the largest party in the Knesset although the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot has emerged as the largest group but well short of a majority.

After the results are confirmed, President Isaac Herzog will be consulting parties after to invite the leader he believes has the best chance of forming a government.

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent reporting from Eisenkot's watch party in Tel Aviv

There were a lot of cheers as the numbers were read out here. But, like everybody, they are just trying to absorb what that means in the long run.

But the fact that some of their numbers were ahead, it seems they are taking that positively at the moment.

Remember, these are just the exit polls and sometimes these exit polls are incorrect, there are one or two outliers as we have seen.

This is just the start of a process.

I think people here are wise and experience to these elections, knowing that what happens here at the immediate phase of these exit polls doesn't always result in the outcome that they might want at the end of the day.

But at the moment here, the mood is quite an optimistic one.

Tom Bennett
Reporting from Eisenkot's watch party in Tel Aviv

Here at Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar Party HQ in Tel Aviv, music is blasting and some of his supporters were dancing, singing and waving Israeli flags as the exit polls were just shown on the big screen.

But no party representatives have yet taken to the stage - and the hall is still half-empty, with lots of floor space in front of the TV crews and journalists from around the world who are here to take in the result.

Eisenkot’s so-called change bloc is projected to be larger than Netanyahu’s bloc, but still well short of a majority.

It is the Arab parties who are the story of the night. They are projected to get around 17 or 18 seats - a record for them.

The main Israeli broadcast exit polls indicate that challenger Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc has emerged as the largest group in Israel’s election, just ahead of the ruling coalition but well short of a majority.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud is set to be the biggest single party in the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset.

Arab Israeli parties have emerged with a record number of seats.

Official results will start being published from 22:00 GMT, but an estimated 600,000 absentee ballots - almost all from the military - and around 10% of the total votes, won’t be fully counted until Thursday.

Once all the results are in, and following consultations with all the political factions, Israel’s president then invites the party leader whom he believes has the best chance of success to form a governing coalition.

A process that can take many weeks.

Polls have now closed in Israel's general election.

Stick with us - we will bring you updates and more as exit polls are expected to be released imminently.

Haaretz is reporting that the first batch of official election results will be released at around 01:00 local time (23:00 GMT), according to the Central Elections Committee.

But, Haaretz adds, the committee warns that vote counting could continue into Friday as there are a large number of absentee ballots.

As of 20:00 in Israel, (18:00 GMT), the national voter turnout stood at 74.3%, according to Israel's Central Elections Committee.

This represents a total of 5,449,277 voters having cast their ballots, it says in a statement, adding turnout was 66.3% at the same time in the previous elections in 2022.

Record voter turnout the story of the day so farpublished at 19:29 GMT

19:29 GMT

Tom Bennett
Eisenkot's Yashar Party HQ

Image source, Getty Images

The story of election day so far has been the turnout - especially in some Arab-majority cities - which has reached record levels at points throughout the day.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spent much of the day posting on social media that high Arab turnout is an "emergency" and a "matter of life or death" for the Israeli right.

If the Arab vote were to hold it could shrink both the main Jewish blocs - Netanyahu’s and Eisenkot’s - and knock out some of the smaller parties that hoped to pass the electoral threshold of 3.25%.

This would make it very difficult for anyone to form a government without the help or participation of at least one of the Arab party blocs - the United Arab List and the Joint List.

Most of the leading Jewish parties have ruled out working with them, meaning concessions, deals and U-turns may be needed to breach any impasse.

But it's important to reiterate - until results roll in, it's all speculation.

Raffi Berg
Middle East digital editor

Image source, EPA

If neither current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition wins a majority of seats, Netanyahu will stay on as caretaker PM as attempts are made to form a government.

President Isaac Herzog will nominate the party leader whom he thinks stands the best chance of being able to do this.

This is a process which can take several months. If no candidate can form a government capable of winning the confidence of parliament, fresh elections will be called, and the process repeated.

In theory, this means Netanyahu could continue as caretaker prime minister for months and even years, with most of his powers.

This has actually previously happened: Netanyahu himself holds the record for length of time serving as a caretaker prime minister, for a year and a half between December 2018 and May 2020.

In that period, three indecisive elections were held, until Netanyahu finally formed a unity government with his main political rival.

The Central Elections Committee has decided not to extend voting hours in the Israeli elections.

In a statement, the committee says it met this evening and decided "the current circumstances do not justify an extension".

It adds the high turnout "reflects strong public engagement in the democratic process" and "no need to extend voting hours was identified".

Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and several other right wing parties had asked for voting to be extended beyond 22:00 (20:00 GMT).

It came after the Israeli prime minister posted on social media about a reportedly high turnout among Arab voters.

Netanyahu labelled it an "emergency" and a "matter of life or death" for the Israeli right, and called on his supporters to get out and vote.

Image source, Getty Images

As of 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT), the estimated national voter turnout was 66.7% according to Israel's Central Elections Committee.

Israeli broadcaster N12 reports that this is the highest ever recorded turnout at this point on election day since 1973, when hourly turnout recording began.

As a reminder, polls are set to close in Israel at 22:00 local time (20:00 GMT).

Likud - The governing right-wing party founded in 1973. Led by PM Benjamin Netanyahu continuously since 2005 and has been in power for all but one year since 2009.

Yashar - Centrist party formed in 2025 by Gadi Eisenkot. The retired Israeli army chief’s son was killed fighting in Gaza. Leader of the anti-Netanyahu "Change bloc".

Beyachad - Centre-right party formed in April 2026, led by former PM Naftali Bennett. Part of the anti-Netanyahu "Change bloc".

The Democrats - Left-leaning party founded in 2024, led by former Israeli army deputy chief of staff Yair Golan. Part of the anti-Netanyahu "Change bloc".

Yisrael Beiteinu - A right-wing secular, nationalist party, founded in 1999. Led by Avigdor Lieberman. Part of the anti-Netanyahu "Change bloc".

Otzma Yehudit - Far-right nationalist party founded in 2012. Led by National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. Willing to join a Netanyahu coalition.

Religious Zionist Party – Far-right nationalist party founded in 2021. Led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Willing to join a Netanyahu coalition.

Ultra-Orthodox parties – Shas, founded in 1984, and United Torah Judaism (UTJ), founded in 1992, are the main parties, historically politically allied with Netanyahu. The Haredi Public Party, founded in July 2026, as an alternative to Shas and UTJ, is also running. Willing to join a Netanyahu coalition.

United Arab List - A conservative, Arab-led party with Islamist roots, United Arab List (Ra'am) was founded in 1996. Led by Mansour Abbas. Willing to be part of a non-Netanyahu coalition.

Joint List - An alliance of three mostly Arab parties, led by Yousef Jabareen. Willing to support a non-Netanyahu coalition from outside government.

Israeli politicians have also been casting their votes today alongside the public.

As a reminder, it’s the first general election in Israel since the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Security, conscription and judicial reform have all been key issuespublished at 18:16 GMT

18:16 GMT

Tom Bennett
in Tel Aviv

Image source, Reuters

Security has been the topic dominating campaigning.

Netanyahu's challengers have all heavily criticised the security failures that led to the 7 October attacks, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages.

Nevertheless, Netanyahu has once again framed himself as "Mr Security", pointing to strategic victories in Israel's wars since 2023.

Conscription is also a major topic. Historically, ultra-Orthodox Jewish men in full-time religious study have been exempt from military service, but since war broke out this has become an increasingly divisive policy.

Judicial reform has also featured heavily during the campaign. Netanyahu's government is still pursuing contentious plans for reforms to the judicial system, which led to mass protests before 7 October.

Critics say the plans would compromise the independence of the judiciary and threaten democracy.

As in many countries, cost of living is another key issue. Food and housing costs have grown steadily in recent years.

Israel uses a system of proportional representation to elect political parties its parliament, called the Knesset.

There are 120 seats in the Knesset, which are allocated in direct proportion to the number of votes a party receives nationally. People vote for a single party, not individual candidates.

The party provides a ranked list of its candidates and they are given Knesset seats depending on the party's final seat total.

A single party has never won enough of the 120 seats to command a majority, which means every government is a coalition of at least two parties.

This gives the smaller parties considerable power to make or break a coalition government.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Israeli voters are turning out in record numbers so far in what many view as one of the most pivotal elections in the country's history.

Half a million first-time voters are expected to have cast their ballot, with some 70,000 Israelis reportedly flying in from abroad to vote.

It's the first election since the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks, in which Hamas-led gunmen stormed through Gaza's border fence killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage, and the subsequent wars and conflicts across the region - in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.

The campaign has been shaped by the issues of democracy and security, and the election is widely being seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rule.

His right-wing Likud party have focused their campaign around the slogan "No Surrender", insisting Netanyahu is the only candidate who can keep the country safe.

Gadi Eisenkot, of the centrist Yashar party, is considered the politician who has the best chance of beating him. The retired military chief has focused his campaign on protecting democracy in Israel.

Polling published on Friday suggests it's almost neck-and-neck between the two men in the race to be the next prime minister.

We'll bring you updates and analysis throughout.