Netanyahu Bloc Leads as 91% of Votes Counted in Israeli Election

With 91% of the votes tallied in the Israeli election, the bloc supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a lead, securing 53 mandates, while the "change bloc" has 48. The Likud party remains the largest with 26 mandates, followed by Yesh Atid with 21. Internal shifts were noted within Arab parties, with Ra'am gaining a mandate to reach 8, at the expense of the Joint List which dropped to 11. Other parties, including Democrats, United Torah Judaism, Yisrael Beiteinu, Otzma Yehudit, Ra'am, and Shas, each have seven mandates, while Religious Zionism-Identity is at the lower end with six.

The counting of approximately 430,000 to 480,000 votes from double envelopes, previously uncounted, began around 1:00 AM, contrary to earlier estimates of around 650,000. This process is expected to conclude this evening and is being broadcast live. To maintain ballot secrecy, the inner envelopes will be separated from the outer ones and mixed before being transferred to the counting area at the Knesset parking lot.

Following the initial count, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed his Likud headquarters, stating, "This is just the prelude, we will wait for the true results." While not declaring victory, he called for the formation of a strong national-right government, emphasizing that the Likud is the largest party and the right-wing bloc has a "decisive majority" among the Zionist and Jewish public.

Earlier, Yesh Atid Chairman Gadi Eisenkot spoke at his party's headquarters, calling it a "mistake to go to further elections." He asserted that Netanyahu faces a "larger and stronger national-Zionist majority" and that a "worthy leader would accept the people's lack of confidence and announce his retirement from political life." Eisenkot also addressed security officials, warning Netanyahu against using Israel's security for political needs, characterizing him as an interim prime minister without a mandate or trust.