Israelis vote in record numbers in first national election since the Oct 7 Hamas massacre

Israelis voted in their first national election since the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, with turnout reaching levels not seen in decades. Exit polls put Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud ahead, but projected seat totals left his governing bloc short of a majority, raising the possibility that he could lose power.

The initial projections gave Likud 25 seats and Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party 21 to 23 in the 120-seat Knesset. They showed Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc with 50 seats, opposition parties with 53 and Arab parties with 17; no bloc reached the 61 seats usually needed to form a government. Turnout had reached 55.7% by 4 p.m., the highest recorded at that time since tracking began in 1973. The projections were preliminary, with coalition talks expected to follow as votes are counted.