JERUSALEM – Updated exit polls showed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc gaining ground as votes were counted early Wednesday, but neither his bloc nor his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, secured a parliamentary majority.

The three main television channels revised their exit polls as Israel's Central Elections Committee began releasing preliminary vote counts.

Channel 12 projected 52 seats for Netanyahu's bloc and 49 for Eisenkot's, with Arab parties taking the remaining 19 seats in the 120-member parliament.

State-owned Kan TV News and Channel 13 projected a tie between the two rival blocs, with 51 seats each, while Arab parties were expected to win 18 seats.

The revised projections marked a shift from the initial exit polls released Tuesday night, which had put Eisenkot's bloc in a slight majority ahead of Netanyahu's. 

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Neither bloc reached the 61 seats needed to secure an outright majority. The Arab parties, which are not part of either bloc, could hold the balance of power, although both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have ruled out including them in their governing coalitions.

The inconclusive projections leave Israel facing potentially prolonged coalition negotiations as the official vote count continues.

Addressing supporters in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Netanyahu said that the Likud Party had emerged as the largest party in Israel, and warned against including Arab parties in any governing coalition, describing such a move as a "threat" to Israel.

He also hinted at a possible further escalation in the Middle East, saying: "Israel faces a unique historic opportunity with our partner (US President Donald) Trump, to remove the Iranian threat."

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Earlier, Eisenkot arrived at his campaign headquarters to meet supporters, saying Netanyahu's ruling coalition had lost public confidence and that voters had rejected another term for him, and vowing to move swiftly to replace it, as the projections pointed to a parliamentary election deadlock.

"Tonight, we got the answer. The public voted for change," Eisenkot said. 

Voter turnout hits 27-year high at 77.7%

Voter turnout in Israel's parliamentary election on Tuesday reached 77.7 percent of eligible voters by the time polls closed at 10 pm local time, according to the final update from Israel's Central Elections Committee, which oversees the vote.

The turnout was the highest recorded in an Israeli election in 27 years, exceeding the 2022 figure by more than 7 percentage points.

Exit polls by public broadcaster Kan and commercial TV Channel 13 projected 53 seats for former military chief Gadi Eisenkot's bloc against 50 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's, while Channel 12 gave Eisenkot's bloc 52 seats and Netanyahu's 50. Neither bloc reached the 61 seats needed for a majority.