ELECTION NIGHT COUNTDOWN BEGINS: Israel Awaits Exit Polls As Voting Ends At 10PM

Israel's 2026 Knesset election reaches its biggest moment of the night at 10pm local time, when polling stations close and the first exit polls hit the airwaves at the same time. This is the first national vote since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, so many Israelis see it as a verdict on wartime leadership. On one side is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud-led right-wing bloc. On the other is the opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot, the former military chief of staff, and his new Yashar party. Turnout has been high, with long lines reported at polling stations, which shows how intensely people are engaged.

The final polls before election day suggested a deadlock, with neither bloc reaching the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. That means the real fight may only begin after the votes are counted, because coalition talks could drag on for days or even weeks. Everyone is watching to see which smaller parties cross the electoral threshold, and whether Arab parties end up as a decisive factor in any bid to replace Netanyahu. Hot-button issues like the ultra-Orthodox military draft exemption and the handling of the war have also fueled public anger. Exit polls are only early projections and are often imprecise, so the final tally could still shift the picture.