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Israel election exit polls show Netanyahu and Eisenkot deadlocked

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Neither bloc reached the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, exit polls showed. Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot claimed the result, and final results are expected on Thursday or Friday.

Two Israeli channels, Kan 11 and Channel 13, put both blocs at 51 seats each. Channel 12 gave Netanyahu's Likud-led bloc 52 seats and the opposition bloc 49. Arab parties were projected to win 18 to 19 seats. Pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 showed a different picture, with his coalition on 60 seats and Eisenkot's on 43.

Netanyahu spoke to supporters at Likud headquarters in Jerusalem after 3am and called for a strong right-wing government. Eisenkot, a former military chief who leads the Yashar party, said Netanyahu is a caretaker prime minister without a mandate. He also said voters had rejected Netanyahu.

Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, said the polls are a major defeat for Netanyahu's coalition. He added that Eisenkot had not emerged as a clear winner. Analysts said a deadlock could leave Netanyahu as caretaker prime minister during long coalition talks.

Turnout was 77.7%, the highest in more than two decades, according to Israel's central elections committee. It was the first election since the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023.

Key facts

Who
Benjamin Netanyahu (Israeli prime minister); Gadi Eisenkot (main rival to Netanyahu; military ex-chief of staff); Ruth Epstein (81-year-old left-wing voter in Ramat Gan); Louis Lipsky (Netanyahu supporter from Jerusalem)
What
Israeli voters turned out at the fastest rate in decades in the first election since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks, with Netanyahu facing main rival Gadi Eisenkot. Opinion polls show a close race.
When
27 October 2026
Where
Israel, Gaza, Lebanon
Status
Reported

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