Israel election: Netanyahu and Eisenkot blocs both fall

Summary

Israelis voted on 27 October 2026 to elect all 120 members of the 26th Knesset, the first election since the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023.
Exit polls put Netanyahu's bloc at around 50 seats and the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot at around 52, both short of the 61 needed for a majority.
Likud remained the largest single party on 24-25 projected seats, ahead of Eisenkot's new Yashar party on 21-23.
Turnout reached 74.3 percent by 8 p.m. local time, described as close to record levels.
Final results were still pending, and opposition figures urged caution against declaring victory.

Exit polls from Israel's first election since the 7 October 2023 attack show neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc nor the opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot reaching a Knesset majority.

Israel went to the polls on Tuesday in its first general election since the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023, a vote widely framed as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza and its aftermath. By the evening, exit polls broadcast on Israeli television suggested the country faced a deadlock.

According to exit poll aggregation reported by NBC News and The Times of Israel, Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc was projected to win around 50 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, while the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot was projected at around 52. Both fall short of the 61 seats required for a governing majority, according to Wikipedia’s tally of the election.

A former general challenges Netanyahu

Eisenkot, a former Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, leads the newly formed Yashar party, whose name means ‘Straight’ in Hebrew. If exit polls hold, Likud would remain the single largest party with 24 to 25 seats, ahead of Yashar’s projected 21 to 23, even as Netanyahu’s overall coalition support appears to have fallen sharply from the 64 seats it won in 2022, according to Axios.

“Netanyahu will stop at nothing to stay in power.” — Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party, quoted by Haaretz

In the final days of campaigning, Eisenkot had urged voters to turn out despite difficult conditions. “I call on all citizens of Israel to go vote, not to buckle under the heat or the disruptions,” he said, according to Middle East Eye. He has also argued the exit polls point to “a complete vote of no confidence in Netanyahu and the October 7 government by the Zionist majority and by most Israeli citizens,” as reported by The Times of Israel.

Record turnout, no clear winner

Turnout reached 74.3 percent by 8 p.m. local time, according to Israeli election authorities cited by NBC News, a figure described as close to record highs. The vote took place against a backdrop of continuing regional tension involving Gaza and Iran, and the Israeli military ordered a general closure of the West Bank for Palestinians on election day, Haaretz reported.

Netanyahu had cast the election in stark terms, telling supporters it was a “matter of life and death,” according to Euronews. Opposition figures, including Gideon Sa’ar, cautioned against premature celebration, noting that Netanyahu had not conceded and that official results remained pending.

The outgoing 25th Knesset was notable in its own right: it was the first Israeli legislature since 1988 to serve a full four-year term without early dissolution. Should the opposition prevail once official results are confirmed, Eisenkot would become the first Mizrahi Jewish person to serve as Israel’s prime minister. For now, with neither bloc near the 61-seat threshold, Israel faces the prospect of prolonged coalition negotiations before any new government can take shape.

This article was researched and drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by Lasse Pedersen before publication. How we use AI

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