Jerusalem:Israel commenced the counting of double-envelope ballots early Thursday, a crucial step that could influence the final distribution of seats in the nation's parliament.

According to Anadolu Agency – English, more than 500,000 of these ballots are being counted, with the process expected to conclude by Thursday evening, as reported by Israel's public broadcaster.

Double-envelope ballots are utilized by voters who cast their votes away from their designated polling stations, including soldiers, diplomats, police officers, and displaced residents. To ensure the integrity of the election, officials verify identification details on the outer envelope to prevent duplicate voting, before separating it from the anonymous ballot for counting.

The outcome of these remaining votes has the potential to alter the seat totals for individual parties and shift the balance between competing blocs. Following the counting of regular ballots, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc was projected to win 53 seats, while the opposition bloc led by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot was expected to secure 48 seats, and predominantly Arab parties were anticipated to win 19 seats, according to Channel 12.

Neither of the main political blocs was projected to achieve the 61 seats required for a majority in the 120-member Knesset. The Joint List was projected to gain 12 seats, with the United Arab List (Ra'am) securing seven, resulting in a record combined representation of 19 seats for Arab parties.

Voter turnout reached 77.7%, marking the highest participation rate since 1999, as reported by the Central Elections Committee.