Israel's election has a high turnout, lifting opposition hopes of beating Netanyahu

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NPR's International Desk

A video wall displays images of Benjamin Netanyahu with President Trump at a Likud party event before the release of the first exit poll results in Israel's general election, in Jerusalem, on Tuesday. David Goldman/AP hide caption

Israeli voters turned out in their highest numbers in more than two decades in a tense national election on Tuesday to decide whether to stick with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition or change course.

Netanyahu is in a tight race with his top rival, Gadi Eisenkot, a center-right former military chief of staff, according to early exit polls after voting ended at 10 p.m. local time. The preliminary results broadcast across Israeli TV networks didn't show a clear winner, but appeared to give the opposition bloc of parties led by Eisenkot a slight edge over Netanyahu's governing coalition.

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Still, the final vote count may not be known until Wednesday. And even then, if no bloc wins an outright majority, it may take days or weeks to find who will be Israel's next prime minister as party leaders try to assemble a governing coalition.

Israelis consider this one of their most consequential votes in history — the first parliamentary election since the October 2023 Hamas-led attack and the start of wars in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East.

The early exit polls suggested Netanyahu's Likud Party won the most seats, with Eisenkot's Yashar party coming second, but no party won an outright majority in the 120-seat parliament, known as the Knesset.

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The final results will depend on the math and negotiations among broader alliances. The bloc of four opposition parties led by Eisenkot appeared to win a combined 52 seats, over the Netanyahu coalition's 50, according to three major exit polls.

Opposition leaders quickly reacted to the preliminary results, saying they suggested voters dealt a blow to Netanyahu's coalition.

Shira Efron, an analyst at the Rand Corp. think tank, agreed that it could be an opposition victory.

"This is a very good outcome for Eisenkot" and his recently formed party, Efron told NPR. "The most likely scenario is that he will receive the mandate from the president to form the government," she told NPR. She said he could try to form a minority government or join an alliance with Arab politicians.

The Central Elections Committee said 77.7% of voters cast ballots as of 10 p.m. — the highest turnout since 1999.

Enthusiasm was especially high among voters seeking to replace Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, with almost two decades in office across multiple tenures.

" Important is an underestimation, because it's much more than important. It's crucial," voter Naama Aaronsohn said of the election. "I'm worried. ... What's going to become of our country if there's not a major change?"

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Another voter, Itamar Ariel, said there are problems in Israel but no one can replace Netanyahu. He said his choice is about security for Israel.

Netanyahu voiced alarm throughout the day, in a number of social media posts, commenting on the high number of Arab citizens of Israel who were turning up at the polls. Netanyahu urged his right-wing supporters to vote.

Nur Abu Na, a 30-year-old nurse, called Netanyahu's government racist against Arab citizens and said she believes it's important for the her Arab community to vote. There are two predominantly Arab parties in the elections.

"This government it's not good for us and ... not good for anyone," she said.

President Trump publicly endorsed Netanyahu. After going to war together against Iran, in June 2025 and again this February, the two leaders plan to launch major attacks against Iran after the Israeli and U.S. midterm elections.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Daniel Estrin reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Ruth Sherlock reported from Jerusalem. Samantha Balaban, Itay Stern, Shir David and Alon Avital contributed reporting in Israel.

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