Israel Election Results: Vote Count Yields No Clear Winner

As dawn broke over Israel on Wednesday, ballots were still being counted, while exit polls pointed to a dramatic national election with no clear victor.

The result was expected to trigger weeks of negotiations among political parties as they seek to build a governing coalition and determine Israel’s next prime minister. Until then, Benjamin Netanyahu remains in office as caretaker prime minister.

Exit polls released by Israel’s major television networks after voting ended Tuesday night, and updated overnight, showed that neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor that of his principal rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, had reached the 61 seats required for a majority in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

Israeli voters choose parties rather than individual candidates, and those parties must then form alliances to assemble a governing majority. No single party has ever won a majority on its own.

The uncertain outcome comes as Israel remains sharply divided over Netanyahu’s leadership and continues to grapple with the consequences of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack and the wars that have reshaped the Middle East since then.

Here is the latest:

Official vote counting continues overnight

Israel’s Central Elections Committee continued releasing partial results into the early hours of Wednesday as officials counted ballots from additional polling stations.

With roughly 40% of ballots counted, Likud, the party led by Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Netanyahu, had received 21.70% of the vote. Yashar, Eisenkot’s party, had 15.72%. Those figures do not yet show how many Knesset seats each party will ultimately secure.

Trump says he heard Netanyahu “did pretty well”

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday pushed back against suggestions that Netanyahu could be headed for defeat after exit polls showed no clear winner in Israel’s election.

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“I’m hearing that he did very well,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after returning from two campaign rallies in Texas. “I actually heard he did pretty well.”

Trump said it was still “a little bit early” and noted that he had not yet spoken with Netanyahu about the election results. He endorsed Netanyahu near the end of the campaign, while Netanyahu highlighted his close relationship with the White House in his election-night remarks.

Netanyahu attacks Arab parties and highlights war with Iran in election-night speech

Speaking to enthusiastic supporters shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said the exit polls showed Likud emerging as the largest party in the next parliament. He pointed to Israel’s military achievements over the past three years and vowed to complete the campaign against Iran’s regime.

Addressing his political opponents, Netanyahu said no government should depend on the support of Arab parties.

Arab-led parties performed strongly in Tuesday’s election and could become decisive players if, as the exit polls suggest, Netanyahu’s bloc and its opponents remain evenly matched and neither side can form a coalition.

Both leading blocs celebrate despite inconclusive results

The uncertainty ahead was reflected in the celebratory atmosphere at both Netanyahu’s and Eisenkot’s campaign headquarters. Speaking early Wednesday in Tel Aviv, Eisenkot emphasized national unity, vowed to build a government and promised Israelis “a new era — an era of hope.”

“Today, Israel went out to a referendum over the leadership that will lead Israel in the coming years,” Eisenkot told cheering supporters. “The people decided in favor of change.”