Netanyahu loses majority in Israel - but no clear election winner. What now? | BBC News Nov 02, 2026

Description

Israel’s general election is too close to call, as exit polls suggest that Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc has won the most seats, ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.

Eisenkot leads the newly formed Yashar party and is the main figure in the "change bloc", a group of opposition parties with the shared goal of ousting Benjamin Netanyahu from power.

Israeli elections can be decided by just a handful of seats, the exit polls have not always been reliable and counting the votes may take several days.

All 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, are up for grabs, but no party has won an overall majority in the past and governments have been made up of coalitions.

It’s Israel's first legislative election since the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023 and the issue of Israel’s security has dominated the campaign.

Netanyahu's challengers have criticised security failures that led to the 7 October attacks, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages. Despite that, Netanyahu has again portrayed himself as the strongman protecting Israel, and claiming a series of military victories.

Sophie Raworth presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Lucy Williamson and Lyse Doucet.

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