Live Updates: Israeli Exit Polls Show Strength of Opposition to Netanyahu but No Clear Winner

JUST IN: Israeli exit polls show the opposition bloc, including two predominantly Arab parties, leading overall, but Netanyahu's Likud holds a narrow lead over Gadi Eisenkot's party, leaving no clear winner in a pivotal election.

Polls have closed in Israel, and the exit polls say nobody won.

The opposition bloc, including two predominantly Arab parties, appears to be ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition overall. But Netanyahu's Likud still holds a narrow lead over the party of Gadi Eisenkot, the former military chief who became the face of the opposition.

Here's where it gets complicated. The Arab parties look set for as many as seventeen or eighteen seats, their strongest showing ever. Yet Eisenkot and some of his potential partners have been reluctant to rely on their support since the October 7 attacks. Without them, the opposition's edge over Netanyahu's bloc is razor thin.

Israeli exit polls have been wrong before, especially in close races, and official results aren't expected until Thursday. In Israel, the vote is only the start. The real contest, forming a government, begins now, and nobody can say tonight who wins it.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.