Israeli Exit Polls Show Netanyahu’s Bloc Short of a Majority After Heavy Turnout

Israelis voted on Tuesday in an election shaped by more than three years of war, and early exit polls suggested that neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing camp nor the opposition led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot had won a majority in parliament.

Three of Israel’s major television networks, Kan 11, Channel 12 and Channel 13, each projected about 50 seats for Mr. Netanyahu’s bloc and about 52 for Mr. Eisenkot’s, with roughly 18 seats going to Arab parties aligned with neither side, according to NBC News. Channel 14, a strongly pro-Netanyahu network, projected 60 seats for his bloc. A government needs the support of at least 61 of the Knesset’s 120 members.

CBS News reported that the exit polls indicated a majority of voters opposed Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition, although his Likud party appeared set to remain the largest single party. Mr. Eisenkot leads the centrist Yashar party and is the leading figure in the opposition camp.

Turnout was high. NBC News, citing the Central Elections Committee, reported turnout of 77.7 percent, the highest since 1999. Both outlets reported an unusually strong showing among Arab citizens, who make up about a fifth of the population; CBS News said the two Arab parties appeared on course to win more seats than ever before.

The campaign unfolded against the backdrop of the war in Gaza that followed the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, fighting in Lebanon, and the United States-Israeli war with Iran that began in February. President Trump endorsed Mr. Netanyahu and suggested on social media that the United States might have to handle the Iran campaign on its own if Israelis did not return him to office, both outlets reported.

Mr. Netanyahu told supporters that Israel must form a strong right-wing government, while Mr. Eisenkot said that if the results held, they would represent a victory for the country’s mainstream majority. Accountability for the security failures of Oct. 7 was a central issue for the opposition, while Mr. Netanyahu has argued that the campaigns against Iran, in Gaza and in Lebanon are not finished and that he needs more time to complete them.

The arithmetic is complicated. Both Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Eisenkot have ruled out governing with Arab-led parties, which could leave neither bloc able to form a majority. CBS News noted that the opposition could try to form a minority government if it wins more seats, and that a deadlock could send Israelis back to the polls; the country held five elections between 2019 and 2022.

Exit polls are not final results, which are due within about eight days. After that, President Isaac Herzog will ask a member of parliament, usually the leader of the largest party, to try to assemble a coalition, a process that can take several weeks.