The Latest: Israelis vote in a tense national election seen as a referendum on Netanyahu

Israelis were voting Tuesday in a tense national election widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the wars that have since shaken the Middle East.

Israelis vote for parties, which then form alliances to create a majority coalition. No single party has ever won a 61-seat majority in the 120-member parliament, or Knesset.

Opinion polls suggest a tight race, with no clear winner expected, setting the stage for weeks or even months of negotiations among around a dozen parties expected to win seats in the Knesset.

Here is the latest:

As polls were starting to open on Tuesday, thousands of volunteer Israeli election observers were in place at polling stations across the country to monitor the election.

Eyal Sher said he volunteered this year with a civil society group called Elections Guards because he wanted to play a role in such a critical vote.

“We have a corrupt government that will do anything to stay in power," he said. "Every vote counts and we want to make sure the procedures are kept intact.”

Netanyahu has been Israel’s most dominant politician for nearly two decades, and a poor showing could end the 77-year-old’s lengthy career on a bitter note and open the door to a new era in Israeli politics.

A victory would cement his image as the ultimate political survivor. Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump backed Netanyahu's reelection, but the late endorsement still marked a setback for the Likud politician who had billed his tight ties to the Republican president as a selling point for staying in power.

Netanyahu has been a master at forming coalitions with religious and nationalist partners. But opinion polls now suggest a tight race between his bloc and the one led by his chief rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, which says Netanyahu should be held accountable for Oct. 7 and the failure to turn battlefield victories into diplomatic achievements.

The deadliest day in Israel’s history has featured prominently in the campaign, but there has been almost no debate over Israel’s wartime conduct in Gaza, which led to an international arrest warrant against Netanyahu.

Israel's occupation of much of southern Lebanon and parts of Syria, as well as its two wars launched against Iran, also has broad support among Israelis.

The candidates have instead focused on Netanyahu’s role in the security breakdown on Oct. 7; his efforts to exempt ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service and a 2023 judicial overhaul seen by critics as an assault on Israel’s democratic institutions.

A pigeon flies 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)

People walk past a Likud party campaign billboard featuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside opposition party leaders and bearing the Hebrew slogan "Right or Palestine," ahead of Israel's general election, in Beni Brak, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A screen projects an image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and his main rival, opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar ("Straight") party, during a campaign rally for Eisenkot ahead of Israel's general election, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

People walk 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)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Taylor Walls stabbed at Brice Turang's sharp grounder and felt it glance off his glove.

“Knife in the chest,” the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop said.

Tampa Bay's first World Series game at Tropicana Field in 18 years turned into a record-setter for Brewers batters.

Milwaukee became the first team to score eight runs with two outs in a World Series inning, routing the Rays 10-1 on Monday night to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Turang's two-run single was the second of a postseason-record seven straight two-out hits against starter Freddy Peralta and relievers Cam Booser and Cole Sulser.

Milwaukee turned a 2-0 lead into a 7-0 advantage with hits on three straight pitches by Turang, Garrett Mitchell and Cooper Pratt. The Brewers went on to score eight runs in a 17-pitch span to open a 10-run advantage. Jackson Chourio had two hits in the inning, part of his four-hit night.

"Worst feeling in the world, feeling like you let your team down,” a downcast Booser said in the quiet Tampa Bay clubhouse.

Among 25 previous teams that fell behind 3-0 in a World Series, 21 were swept and four lost in five games. Of 43 teams to trail 3-0 in any best-of-seven postseason matchup, only the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series rebounded to win.

“It’s kind of that chip and a chair mentality," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We’ve got a seat at the table. We’ve got to do something with the chip. Obviously the only thing we can do is win tomorrow.”

Coming off a pair of one-run wins at American Family Field, the Brewers took a 2-0 lead in the third when Christian Yelich and William Contreras hit opposite-field, one-out RBI singles on consecutive pitches.

Chourio singled with one out in the fifth and Christian Yelich walked with two outs. Contreras grounded to third and Junior Caminero threw to second as umpire Dan Bellino signaled a forceout. But the call was reversed in the New York replay operations center by umpire Alfonso Márquez, giving Contreras an infield single that loaded the bases.

Caminero may have had a better chance of throwing out Contreras at first base.

“I knew the speed at first base wasn’t necessarily the best in that situation,” Caminero said through a translator. “So going into the moment, once I got the groundball I was going to second base all the way.”

Booser relieved and Turang’s 106 mph one-hopper hit the dirt just past the infield grass, bounced off Walls' glove and into short center field.

“I’d like to have that one back. Those are plays that you’d like to make, that you expect to make even though they may be on the tougher end,” Walls said. “That was pretty much the turning point in the game there.”

Walls dropped to a knee and held out his glove at shoulder level trying to make what would have been an excellent stop, then tumbled as the ball bounced past him.

“You just try to get your eyes as close to where the ball is going to be, the height of the hop,” he said. “Ideally, I guess if you want to talk about fractions, if you can get your glove behind the ball and work more backwards you have a better chance to make the play than if you’re slightly above it having to kind of work down a little bit, which is where I kind of felt I was.”

Mitchell grounded an opposite-field RBI single through the shortstop hole vacated with Walls shifted toward second for the left-handed batter. Pratt followed with a smash off the glove of a diving Caminero that rolled into the left-field corner for a two-run double.

Sal Frelick sliced an opposite-field double that hit the wall on a hop in the left-field corner, scoring Pratt and chasing Booser.

David Hamilton greeted Sulser by lining a shoulder-high fastball into center for a run-scoring single and a 9-0 lead. Chourio then lofted an opposite-field RBI double that hit just in front of the warning track.

Boston set the previous Series high of seven runs with two outs in the fifth inning of the 2007 opener against Colorado, a feat matched three years later by San Francisco in the eighth inning of Game 2 against Texas, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Los Angeles Dodgers were the only prior team with eight two-out runs in any postseason inning, scoring 10 with two outs in the first inning of Game 3 against Atlanta in the 2020 NL Championship Series.

Griffin Jax said he'll put the Series deficit out of his mind when he starts Game 4 on Tuesday.

“We just got our butts kicked tonight. I don’t think there’s really much else to say,” Jax explained. “We’ll just kind of forget it and try to sleep it off and come back tomorrow ready to fight.”

This story has been corrected to note that Turang’s two-run single was the second of seven straight two-out hits, and that the Dodgers played Atlanta in the 2020 NLCS.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero watches from the dugout during the eighth inning of Game 3 of baseball's World Series, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls fields a two-RBI base hit by Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang during the fifth inning of Game 3 of baseball's World Series, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Cam Booser leaves the game during the fifth inning of Game 3 of baseball's World Series, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Tampa Bay Rays players watch from the dugout during the fifth inning of Game 3 of baseball's World Series, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Milwaukee Brewers designated hitter Christian Yelich celebrates scoring with shortstop Cooper Pratt (12) off a base hit by second baseman Brice Turang during the fifth inning of Game 3 of baseball's World Series, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang connects for a two-RBI base hit during the fifth inning of Game 3 of baseball's World Series, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Milwaukee Brewers' Jackson Chourio (11) celebrates after scores on a hit by Christian Yelich during the third inning of Game 3 of baseball's World Series, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Members of the Tampa Bay Rays watch during the seventh inning of Game 3 of baseball's World Series, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)