Israel Election Exit Polls Point to Hung Knesset After Tuesday Vote

Exit polls from Israel's major television networks indicate neither Benjamin Netanyahu nor the opposition has secured the 61 seats needed to command a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. The projections showed a majority of Israeli voters cast ballots against Netanyahu's coalition, while his Likud party still finished as the largest single party.

Coalition talks would be required either way. Forming a government requires majority support in parliament, and the exit polls indicate neither Netanyahu nor the opposition reached that threshold on their own.

Arab parties in Israel won more Knesset seats than in any prior election. Some Arab voters told CBS News the period under Netanyahu's hard-right government had been difficult for them, and that sentiment contributed to a historic turnout in the community. Arab citizens make up about 20% of Israel's population.

Both Netanyahu and the parties opposing him pledged before the vote not to build a government that depends on Arab parties, arguing such an arrangement would be risky given Israel's involvement in conflicts across the region. Netanyahu campaigned in part on keeping those parties out of power. Should the opposition break that pre-election commitment, a move with precedent in Israeli politics, it could take power and unseat Netanyahu.

This was the first election since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, which authorities have described as the deadliest day for Israel since the country's founding in 1948. Israelis voted while the war that followed was still underway across several fronts, including Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and after two direct rounds of conflict with Iran.

Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, leads Likud and has sought another coalition built on partnerships with ultranationalist and Jewish religious parties. He has told voters that operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran are unfinished and that his government needs more time to complete them.

President Trump endorsed Netanyahu last week and restated his administration's support for the war the two leaders launched against Iran almost eight months ago. Trump warned on Truth Social that he would be disinclined to continue it if Netanyahu does not remain in power: "If Israel has the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so."

The opposition, called the change bloc, unites parties across the ideological spectrum around one objective: removing Netanyahu from power. Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, who leads the centrist Yashar party, is the front-runner to head that bloc. Eisenkot served in Israel's war cabinet during the first year of the Gaza war alongside Netanyahu, and lost a son and two nephews who were serving in Gaza. About half of his party's candidates are women, compared with the male-dominated coalition led by Netanyahu.

If neither side reaches 61 seats, several outcomes are possible. Lawmakers or parties could switch allegiance, which Israeli politics has seen before, and negotiations could run for weeks. The opposition could also try to form a minority government, which requires more seats collectively than the other side rather than a majority of the 120. Arab parties could supply those votes by backing a minority government or by abstaining. If no coalition forms, new elections would follow. Israel held five elections between 2019 and 2022 because no side could govern.

Arab citizens of Israel account for about 20% of the country's population.