Less than half of all votes have been counted in Israel's election; no clear majority so far | LIVE BLOG

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- i24NEWS

- Israel elections 2026

- Nearly 90% of ballots have been counted, leading coalitions lose seats to Arab parties | LIVE BLOG

Nearly 90% of ballots have been counted, leading coalitions lose seats to Arab parties | LIVE BLOG

Over 85% of votes counted: Netanyahu bloc - 53 seats, Eisenkot bloc - 48 seats, Arab parties - 19 seats

Israel’s voter turnout reached 77.7% by the time polls closed at 10 p.m., the highest at that hour since 1999, according to the Central Elections Committee. More than 5.69 million people cast ballots, and results will be published gradually as votes are counted and verified. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already come out and announced that the right-wing bloc has a clear majority; however, so far, just over 40% of ballots have been counted and published by the CEC.

READ MORE FROM ELECTION DAY

The latest i24NEWS’s election results, as of 2:00 pm:

Elections in Israel: Up to 480,000 ballots remain to be counted, the equivalent of approximately 12 seats in the Knesset

The Israeli Central Elections Commission estimates that between 430,000 and 480,000 so-called "double-envelope" ballots were cast in the parliamentary elections, a figure significantly lower than the 600,000 initially reported. These votes came primarily from soldiers, police officers, prisoners, and diplomats stationed abroad, as well as other voters who cast their ballots outside their usual polling stations. The ballots are counted separately after verification to prevent double voting.

According to the Commission, these estimates remain provisional and could still change. With each Knesset seat representing approximately 40,000 votes, these ballots are equivalent to about a dozen seats and could alter the political balance. At this stage, Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc is credited with 53 seats, compared to 48 for the predominantly Jewish opposition parties. Neither side has reached the 61 seats needed for an absolute majority.

The full count is expected Thursday afternoon, while the final official results are due to be published on November 4.

Israel Katz condemns Gadi Eisenkot's remarks to security officials to be "anti-democratic"

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday strongly criticized Gadi Eisenkot's remarks, calling them "undemocratic and out of touch with reality." During his campaign speech, the Yashar party leader had urged security officials to resist any political pressure, accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of potentially exploiting national security. "You serve only the state and the interests of Israeli citizens. Resist any attempt at pressure," he had declared.

Speaking on X, Katz denounced what he interpreted as a call to disobey directives from the government and relevant security agencies. The minister also dismissed accusations of tensions between political and military leaders regarding Iran, calling them a "campaign of lies." These exchanges come amid reports that Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir opposed an offensive against Iran before the elections. Israel Katz assured that the IDF was fully participating in security discussions and would implement any decision deemed necessary.

IDF says it killed three Hamas Nukhba terrorists in Gaza, including one who took part in abducting Israelis from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7

The IDF killed Ahmed Muhammad Ahmed Baraka, a Nukhba terrorist in Hamas’s military wing, in a strike in southern Gaza last week on Thursday, the IDF Spokesperson said.

The IDF said Baraka took part in abducting several Israeli civilians during the October 7 massacre, including the late Alexander Dancyg of Kibbutz Nir Oz, and later helped hold many hostages in the southern Gaza Strip, including Nimrod Cohen.

In a strike in northern Gaza at the end of the week, on Friday, the IDF killed two more Hamas military wing members: Omar Awadallah, a Nukhba platoon commander, and Moataz Mahmoud Mohammed al-Nimr, a Nukhba terrorist.

The IDF said the terrorists had advanced terror plots against troops and Israeli civilians throughout the war and especially recently, and worked to rebuild Hamas’s capabilities in systematic violation of the ceasefire.

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79.9% of IDF service members voted in Knesset elections, up 6.2% from last election

Voter turnout among IDF service members stood at 79.9% after the polls closed in the 26th Knesset elections, an increase of 6.2% compared to the 25th Knesset elections, the IDF Spokesperson said.

Voting within the IDF began last week and continued through Election Day, with over 890 military polling stations operated across bases and units nationwide, about a quarter of them mobile.

The IDF said the stations, deployed throughout the country and in combat zones, were part of an effort to ensure that all service members could exercise their democratic right to vote

‘It looks like a come-from-behind stalemate, or even a win,’ President Trump credits his endorsement for Netanyahu’s election lead

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Netanyahu’s Likud Party leads elections with 27 votes, Eisenkot’s Yashar Party in second with 21 votes; only 42% of ballots counted so far

Read the original article on i24news.tv

What we found (3)

i24News reports Israel's election count and, in its own voice, calls the parties of Palestinian citizens of Israel only "Arab parties", never naming these voters as Palestinian anywhere in the live blog. In a Gaza item it labels a named man killed by Israeli occupation forces a "Nukhba terrorist" with no attribution, when its only source is the army. Its headline also gives a vote count that the body has overtaken.

Erases a people's national identity
Serious
“lose seats to Arab parties”
Why this matters
In its own voice i24News says the leading coalitions "lose seats to Arab parties", using an ethnic label for the parties of Palestinian citizens of Israel.
The impression it gives
A reader comes away thinking these voters and their parties are simply an Arab minority inside Israel, with no tie to the Palestinian people.
The context
Most Arab citizens of Israel describe themselves in terms that include Palestinian: in Sammy Smooha's 2019 survey, 61.9% chose a self-description containing Palestinian. The word Palestinian appears nowhere in this live blog, so this line is the only identity the reader is given.
How we know
- On the recordIn Sammy Smooha's April-June 2019 survey of 718 adult Arab citizens of Israel, including Druze and Bedouin, 61.9% chose a self-description containing Palestinian. This is historical survey evidence, not a 2026 percentage or proof of any individual's identity. Arab and Palestinian identities can coexist.newscord.org (opens in a new tab)
- Our analysis“61.9% chose a description of themselves that included Palestinian”Palestinian citizens of Israel voted in record numbers
- Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “Palestinian”.
Show it in the article
“Arab parties - 19 seats”
Why this matters
The seat tally sets "Arab parties" beside the "Netanyahu bloc" and "Eisenkot bloc" as a third block, again named only by ethnicity in the outlet's voice.
The impression it gives
The reader takes this 19-seat block as an ethnic category in the count, not as the representation of Palestinian citizens of Israel.
The context
The article names the parties elsewhere by their official names, Joint List and Ra'am, which is not itself erasure. But it calls the block only "Arab" and later contrasts it with "predominantly Jewish opposition parties". It never tells the reader that the people behind these seats are largely Palestinian, as the survey evidence shows.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“the predominantly Jewish opposition parties”
- On the recordIn Sammy Smooha's April-June 2019 survey of 718 adult Arab citizens of Israel, including Druze and Bedouin, 61.9% chose a self-description containing Palestinian. This is historical survey evidence, not a 2026 percentage or proof of any individual's identity. Arab and Palestinian identities can coexist.newscord.org (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
Written straight
Nearly 90% of ballots have been counted, and the leading blocs have lost seats to parties led by Palestinian citizens of Israel, which now hold 19 seats.
Labels people on one side's word
Serious
“Moataz Mahmoud Mohammed al-Nimr, a Nukhba terrorist”
Why this matters
In its own voice, with no "the IDF said" in the sentence, i24News calls a named man killed in an Israeli strike "a Nukhba terrorist".
The impression it gives
A reader takes it as established fact that the dead man was a terrorist.
The context
The only source anywhere in the item is the Israeli army's spokesperson. The surrounding sentences attribute the same labels to the army, but this one drops the attribution and states the army's description of a man it killed as fact.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“the IDF Spokesperson said”
- Elsewhere in the article“The IDF said the terrorists had advanced terror plots”
Show it in the article
Written straight
On Friday an Israeli strike in northern Gaza killed Omar Awadallah and Moataz Mahmoud Mohammed al-Nimr, whom the Israeli army described as Hamas Nukhba members.
Headline goes beyond the article
Minor
“Less than half of all votes have been counted”
Why this matters
The headline tells the reader that less than half the votes have been counted.
The impression it gives
A reader of the headline thinks the count is at an early stage.
The context
The body's latest update says nearly 90% of ballots have been counted and gives a tally at over 85%. The headline repeats a figure the article itself has overtaken.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“Nearly 90% of ballots have been counted”
Show it in the article

How other outlets reported it

Our analysisPalestinian citizens of Israel voted in record numbers

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Less than half of all votes have been counted in Israel's election; no clear majority so far | LIVE BLOG

Erases a people's national identity

Labels people on one side's word

Headline goes beyond the article

How other outlets reported it

More from i24News