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

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/israelis-vote-in-record-numbers-in-first-national-election-since-the-oct-7-hamas-massacre/
- Published: 2026-10-27T20:10:31+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-27T21:40:25+00:00
- Original publisher: Fox News (publisher lean: Far right)
- Original article: https://www.foxnews.com/world/israelis-vote-record-numbers-first-national-election-since-oct-7-hamas-massacre
- Topics: Elections, Middle East, Politics, World

## Key points

- Likud led exit polls but Netanyahu’s bloc fell short of a majority.
- Turnout reached 55.7% by 4 p.m., a record for that point in the day.
- Coalition negotiations could determine whether Netanyahu remains in power.

## Summary

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.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.