Israeli exit polls show no clear winner as neither bloc reaches 61 seats

Exit polls released after voting closed at 10pm local time on Tuesday in Israel's general election showed neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc nor the opposition winning the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Channel 12 projected 50 seats for Netanyahu-backing parties and 52 for Jewish-led opposition parties; Channel 13 put the figures at 50 and 53. Arab-led parties, including Ra'am and the Joint List, were projected to win a record 17 or 18 seats between them. Netanyahu's Likud was projected to be the largest single party. The opposition bloc is led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief and head of the Yashar party. Turnout was 74.3 percent as of 8pm, up from 70.63 percent in 2022, according to the Central Elections Committee, which rejected a Likud request to extend voting hours. Preliminary results are expected Wednesday, a final tally Friday and official results on November 4. Israel's president alone decides who gets the first chance to form a government. Exit polls can differ from final results, and if neither bloc can govern, another election could follow.

The right-leaning Daily Mail leads with Netanyahu's political future hanging in the balance. It notes he is 77 and that Likud stays largest, and its headline says the rival bloc could still oust him. It stresses coalition stalemate, recalling five elections in 2019-2022, and calls the vote a referendum on his leadership since October 7. The left-leaning CBS News and Talking Points Memo lead with the lack of a clear winner. CBS offers a short report from Dov Lieber. TPM warns that exit polls may be wrong and explains the president's role, without Netanyahu-centered framing. All agree neither side reaches 61. Middle East Eye, an alternative outlet, instead leads with Palestinian citizens' gains blocking Netanyahu.