Jerusalem:Israel's Central Elections Committee has finalized the vote count for the parliamentary elections held on Tuesday, revealing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc has secured 53 seats. Opposition parties garnered 48 seats, while Arab parties obtained 19 seats. Special ballots, known as double envelopes, were also counted, with final results yet to be released. The count included votes from 12,644 polling stations, totaling 5,589,836 votes, of which 5,564,764 were valid and 25,072 invalid. Netanyahu's Likud party saw an increase from 26 to 27 seats, whereas the ultra-Orthodox Shas party dropped from seven to six seats. Among the Arab parties, Ra'am gained one seat, increasing its representation to eight, while the Joint List lost one, bringing it to 11 seats. Neither Netanyahu's bloc nor the opposition reached the 61-seat majority required in the 120-member Knesset.

According to Anadolu Agency – English, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced the interception and destruction of a Houthi drone launched towards Saudi Arabia's Mecca region. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki confirmed the interception on the social media platform X. This incident follows the coalition's earlier interception of a Houthi cruise missile targeting western Saudi Arabia, amid ongoing hostilities between the coalition and the Houthis. On Thursday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for six attacks on Saudi targets, including oil facilities and airports.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared that the Turkic world will aim to make the coming era the "Turkish Century" through unity and cooperation. Erdogan expressed this vision during a dinner reception for leaders of the Organization of Turkic States in Ankara, which coincided with the 13th summit of the organization. The summit is focused on regional cooperation and advancing the Turkic World Vision 2040.