Israeli election has no clear winner, exit polls suggest. Here's what to know and what's likely next

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israelis appear to have handed a rebuke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in national elections, exit polls indicated. But what’s next is uncertain as there's no clear winner and no obvious path to a governing majority.

The election was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister.

His party, Likud, appears to have gotten the most votes. But the exit polls by major Israeli TV stations indicate that support for his religious-national coalition dropped significantly.

The exit polls suggested his opponents could secure a solid majority in the next parliament. But whether those disparate parties, including Arab-led parties, can form a government is uncertain, and will likely take weeks of haggling.

Here are some key points to know as the polls closed in Israel on Tuesday night.

In Israel, voters choose not individuals but parties. Since no party has ever captured a parliamentary majority on its own, party leaders must agree to come together in a governing coalition.

Exit polls indicated that Netanyahu's bloc of supporters won about 50-51 seats in parliament, while the bloc led by his main challenger, former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, won 51-52. That would leave each side well below the 61 seats needed to form a government with a parliamentary majority.

The exit polls suggested that Arab-led parties captured the remaining 18 seats.

Official results aren't expected until later this week.

If the Arab parties do as well as the exit polls suggest, they could play a decisive role in selecting Israel's next prime minister.

Both Netanyahu and some of Eisenkot's partners have said they will not join a government with Arab parties. Eisenkot has signaled he is ready to work with them under certain conditions, but this could risk alienating some of his partners.

Like all surveys, exit polls are subject to potential error and final results, expected in the coming days, may vary from the exit polls.

Israelis are largely opposed to a Palestinian state. No major candidate advocated a return to the long-moribund peace process.

Even Mansour Abbas, a Palestinian Arab politician who leads Ra’am, the first Arab-led party to join a governing coalition in 2021, centered his campaign on concerns about crime in Arab communities.

As exit polls were shown on a screen at an Abbas election night event in Sakhnin, an Arab city in northern Israel, supporters of the small Arab-led party Ra’am erupted in celebration.

This election was held against the background of the enduring trauma of the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 others, and the ensuing wars in Gaza and beyond.

The deadliest day in Israel’s history featured prominently in the campaigns. Israelis have focused on the security failures surrounding Oct. 7 and the enormous burden on their society, rather than on the humanitarian situation in war-devastated Gaza.

Netanyahu has rejected an investigation into Oct. 7 and blamed the army for the failures that day. His supporters say he led the country back from that difficult day and scored important achievements in wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Netanyahu’s opponents said he should be held accountable for the security failures that occurred on his watch and have demanded a commission of inquiry, and their strong showing signaled in the exit polls indicates the lingering deep divide.

The country has also been deeply divided by exemptions from military service granted to ultra-Orthodox males. These exemptions are especially contentious after three years of wars.

Netanyahu’s governing coalitions have long relied on ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties that have demanded these exemptions remain in place.

Netanyahu’s rival Eisenkot — who lost his son and two nephews to combat in Gaza — has vowed to end the de facto exemptions. He repeated that promise speaking to supporters in Tel Aviv early on Wednesday morning.

The exit polls, which also indicated a drop in support for ultra-Orthodox parties, signaled voter unhappiness over these exemptions.

The final update from Israel’s Central Elections Committee put voter turnout at 77.7% of eligible voters by the time polls closed.

That’s the highest turnout at that hour since 1999, and just over seven percentage points higher than at the same time in the previous election in 2022. The elections saw high turnout all day, reflecting the high stakes of the election.

Supporters of Israeli lawmaker Mansour Abbas's Raam party applaud and wave party flags after the release of the first exit poll results in Israel's general election, in Sakhnin, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu react to the release of the first exit poll results in Israel's general election in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar ("Straight") party, waves to supporters after the release of the first exit poll results in Israel's general election in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, is partially obscured by Israeli flags as he greets supporters after the release of the first exit poll results in Israel's general election in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People embrace and wave flags amid falling confetti as they celebrate early exit poll results for Israel's general election in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Supporters of Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar ("Straight") party, react after the release of the first exit poll results in Israel's general election in Tel Aviv, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Former Israeli hostage Gadi Moses waits to cast his ballot during Israel's general election at a polling station in Kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A man casts his ballot at a polling station during Israel's general election in Haifa, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Voters arrive at a school used as a polling station during Israel's general election in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A pedestrian passes a campaign billboard featuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and his main rival, opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot, with a message in Hebrew that reads "The race is tight," Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A woman walks past a Likud Party campaign billboard featuring U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with a Hebrew message reading, "We have one opportunity to win," in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

For those fearing record-low ratings for the World Series, the matchup between the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays is exceeding expectations.

The audiences for the first two games on Fox Sports were down only 6% compared to Games 1 and 2 from last year's Fall Classic between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.

“I think they’ve probably surpassed everybody’s expectations. I think very few people, including me, would’ve guessed that we’d be down 6% through two games. We’re really satisfied,” said Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports president for insight and analytics

Milwaukee's 3-2 win in Game 1 last Friday averaged 12.26 million viewers on Fox, Fox Deportes, Fox One streaming, the Fox Sports app and Univision. The Brewers' 5-4 victory in Game 2, which did not include Univision coverage, averaged 10.85 million.

Both games were the most-watched broadcast of the night.

With two small-market teams vying for the championship, there were many predictions the early ratings could rival the 2023 World Series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks, which was the least-watched on record with a 9.11 million average. Game 2 of that series set the record low at 8.15 million.

The difference this year, though, is that Milwaukee has a steady base of fans in the Midwest and has been a consistent contender the last couple of seasons. This is also a matchup of the two teams with the best records in baseball this season.

“I do think there’s something helpful about having a traditional team from the Midwest in the series. And the fact that they were able to take down the two-time defending champs (the Dodgers) and do it in really convincing fashion, I think that helps build some interest for the World Series,” Mulvihill said.

The Fox-only average for the first two games this year is 11.05 million.

Fox could be holding its breath for the ratings from Monday's Game 3. Not only was it a 10-1 blowout win for Milwaukee, it faced stiff competition with the Dallas Cowboys playing the Philadelphia Eagles on “Monday Night Football.”

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Tampa Bay Rays player work out during a World Series baseball media day, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in Milwaukee, ahead of Game 1 between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)