Netanyahu's Likud leads Israel's vote count, but neither camp has a clear path to a majority

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud was on course to be the largest party in Israel's 120-seat Knesset as votes were counted on Wednesday, according to the BBC and The Guardian. Exit polls on Tuesday night gave the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot a slight edge, while early partial results put Netanyahu's bloc just short of a 61-seat majority. The BBC said analysts cautioned that the early count leaned toward right-wing areas and that uncounted absentee ballots, mostly from soldiers, mean final results may take another day or two.

Turnout topped 77%, the highest in 50 years, The Guardian reported, with Arab citizens voting in unusually large numbers. Arab-led parties appeared to match or exceed their previous record seat total, the BBC said, which could make them kingmakers, although Eisenkot and most other Jewish opposition leaders ruled out governing with them during the campaign. Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot told supporters overnight that they would form the next government.

Why it matters: After final results are presented to President Isaac Herzog next week, he will ask the candidate most likely to succeed to form a coalition. Analysts quoted by the BBC said that process could take weeks or months, and its outcome will decide who leads Israel's policy on Gaza, Iran and the wider region.