Jerusalem, 28 October (H.S.): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led bloc is ahead of its rivals after approximately 42 per cent of the votes were counted in the country’s parliamentary election, according to the Central Elections Committee.

The committee said Netanyahu’s bloc had secured 57 seats, compared with 47 for the anti-Netanyahu opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party. The remaining 16 seats were attributed to other parties in the partial count.

According to reports by The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post, approximately 5.69 million people cast their votes in Tuesday’s election to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

As of 5.58 a.m. on Wednesday, 41.9 per cent of the votes had been counted. The Central Elections Committee cautioned that the figures were provisional and could change as counting continued. Ballots cast in double envelopes, including those of soldiers, were due to be counted at a later stage.

Meanwhile, the October Council, an organisation representing families and supporters seeking accountability for the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, has called on the incoming government to establish a State Commission of Inquiry into the failures surrounding the attacks on its first day in office.

US President Donald Trump believes his public endorsement of Netanyahu helped the Israeli prime minister in the election.

In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote, “When I endorsed Netanyahu, the whole atmosphere changed.”

The partial results showed Likud ahead of Eisenkot’s Yashar party, although the final composition of the Knesset and the prospects for forming a governing coalition remained uncertain as vote counting continued.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar