ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Parts of a large volcanic rock formation crashed down in Turkey’s popular tourism destination of Cappadocia on Thursday, killing at least three people and injuring five others, officials said.
A section of the rock formation — known as a fairy chimney — tumbled in Cappadocia’s Goreme region, prompting authorities to deploy medical and rescue teams.
Gov. Huseyin Kok said recent heavy rains likely caused the collapse, which occurred near a parking lot at an entrance to the site.
He said rescue teams were continuing to search for other people who may be trapped under the debris.
“We hope that there are no other casualties,” the governor said. “We are deeply saddened.”
Kok said two of the three dead were Turkish nationals. He did not provide information on the third victim.
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said an investigation was launched into the incident.
HaberTurk news channel showed heavy machinery removing chunks of rock from the foot of the formation.
Cappadocia, in central Turkey, is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site famed for its distinctive rock formations and ancient underground cities. It is one of the country’s most visited tourism locations.
The collapse occurred on Turkey’s Republic Day holiday, when the area would have been crowded with visitors.
Emergency teams work in the aftermath where parts of a volcanic rock formation collapsed in Cappadocia, central Turkey, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. (Turan Bulut/IHA via AP)
JERUSALEM (AP) — Final election results are expected Thursday evening or Friday in Israel, where neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s bloc nor the opposition — unless it partners with Arab-led parties — is on a path to a majority in parliament.
Weeks of negotiations to build a majority coalition and name a prime minister likely lie ahead. One scenario sees Jewish and Arab-led parties opposed to Netanyahu joining forces. Another sees some parties that campaigned on ousting Israel’s longest-serving prime minister teaming up with him instead.
Both possibilities have prompted bitter debate in an already deeply divided country.
Here’s what to know about what comes next:
The election was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, even though Israelis vote on parties, not individuals. His party, Likud, received the most votes overall, but lost support compared with the previous election in 2022. Voter turnout was 77%, the highest since 1999.
Support for far-right parties in Netanyahu’s coalition dropped significantly, putting his bloc below the 61 seats needed to form a government, according to partial results.
Local media projections show that Yashar — the party led by Netanyahu's main rival, former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot — also would need support from other parties to secure a majority in parliament, the 120-seat Knesset.
Israel's president soon will task someone with forming a government. If multiple attempts fail, the country could face new elections early next year.
Arab-led parties were clear winners in Tuesday’s elections, standing to significantly increase their representation in the Knesset if current tallies stand.
Eisenkot has left the door open to partnering with them under certain conditions, including recognition of the Gaza-based Hamas as an extremist group, but some of his other likely partners have ruled it out.
Netanyahu refuses to form a government relying on Arab parties. Now he and Likud are amplifying allegations they are stealing the election and have asked the elections committee to investigate. Likud has not shared evidence supporting the claim.
Separately, the elections committee has asked the Shin Bet intelligence service to investigate allegations of unspecified foreign interference. While the letter making the request does not mention the Arab-led parties, Netanyahu cited it in arguing that no party should cooperate with them.
Netanyahu's opponents have accused him of using scare tactics and trying to create a narrative to further discrimination against Arab-led parties and Israel’s Arab citizens, who make up 20% of the population.
It was not clear who made the latest interference allegations. But Qatar issued a sharp statement denying it had funded “any activities intended to influence” the elections' outcome. Many Israelis see the energy-rich Gulf Arab country as a patron of Hamas, and allegations of its influence have roiled Israeli politics in other cases.
The elections committee did not give further details, and the Shin Bet did not respond to questions. The committee wants findings within the week. Israeli law requires election results to be certified by Nov. 4.
The election was held against the backdrop of the 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 focused on the security failures surrounding Oct. 7 rather than on the humanitarian situation in war-devastated Gaza.
Netanyahu has rejected an investigation into Oct. 7. His supporters say he led the country back from that difficult day and scored important achievements in wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Some of Netanyahu’s opponents have said creating a commission of inquiry would be among their first acts in power.
Especially since Oct. 7, many Jewish Israelis view their Arab fellow citizens with suspicion because of their sympathies with other Palestinians.
The country also has been deeply divided by exemptions from military service granted to the rapidly growing ultra-Orthodox population. The exemptions are especially contentious after three years of wars, with nearly 1,000 soldiers and reservists killed.
Netanyahu’s governing coalition has long relied on ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties that have demanded the exemptions remain in place. Eisenkot, who lost his son to combat in Gaza, has vowed to end the exemptions.
Associated Press journalist Cara Anna contributed from Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greets his supporters at Likud party headquarters in Jerusalem after the release of the first exit poll results in Israel's general election, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar ("Straight") party, waves an Israeli flag onstage following the release of the first exit poll results in Israel's general election in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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)
