Jerusalem:Updated exit polls in Israel indicate a tight race, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc and the opposition bloc led by former Israeli Army Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot each securing 51 seats. The Arab parties collectively hold 18 seats, as per early Wednesday projections.

According to Anadolu Agency – English, both blocs fall short of the 61-seat majority required in the 120-seat Knesset. Channel 13 projects Likud as the largest party with 27 seats, followed by Eisenkot's Yashar party with 23 seats, and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's Together alliance with 13 seats.

The Joint List is expected to gain 11 seats, while the United Arab List (Ra'am) would secure seven, resulting in a combined total of 18 seats for the Arab lists. These revised projections have erased an initial advantage that Eisenkot's bloc held, as earlier forecasts by the public broadcaster and Channel 13 had shown 53 seats for his bloc compared to 50 for Netanyahu's, alongside 17 seats for Arab parties.

Channel 12 had previously projected 52 seats for Eisenkot's bloc, 50 for Netanyahu's, and 18 for Arab parties. Voter turnout hit 77.7%, marking the highest since 1999 and an increase of 7.1 percentage points from the 2022 election, According to Central Elections Committee.

Vote counting commenced after polls closed at 10 pm local time (2000 GMT) on Tuesday. It is important to note that exit polls are projections and not official results. The official results are anticipated to be released on November 4.