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By noon on Tuesday, it seemed clear that the upheaval of the past few years in Israeli society — from the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, to the inclusion of far-right parties in the government — was driving changes in voting behavior in southern Israeli communities. One of the key outcomes of the national elections was an apparent sharp rise in the Arab Israeli vote. Central Elections Committee figures showed high turnout across non-Jewish communities. In the Bedouin city of Rahat, a stronghold of Mansour Abbas’s party Ra’am, resident Ahmed al-Qassassi said he was certain politicians from the coalition and opposition would try to woo Abbas once the vote count was in, despite having vowed during the during campaign not to sit with Arab parties. “We want to be part of the government,” he said. Read more on ToI.

Can the Arab parties help get the opposition to 61 seats? ToI’s founding editor David Horovitz explains the opposition’s possible paths to forming a government, following exit polls that showed no clear victor in the election. Watch the full preliminary results explainer on The Times of Israel’s YouTube channel, and find the latest updates on our 24/7 breaking news liveblog.

Voter turnout was historically high for Israel’s national election Tuesday, standing at 77.7% as of 10 p.m. Read more:

Kan exit poll shows no clear victor: Netanyahu’s Likud is largest party but opponents have larger bloc

Channel 13 exit poll: Eisenkot-led bloc in lead, Likud largest party, but neither camp gets majority amid record Arab showing

Channel 12 exit poll shows no clear victor: Netanyahu’s Likud is largest party but his opponents have bigger bloc

Turnout at 74.3% as of 8 p.m., already surpassing total of 2022 election

Elections committee rejects Likud’s request to extend voting hours

Reporter Tal Schneider spoke with voters in the Arab town of Kafr Qasim, an Arab town of 28,000 residents located some 20 kilometers east of Tel Aviv. One of the key outcomes of the national elections has been an apparent sharp rise in the Arab Israeli vote. Central Elections Committee figures are showing high turnout across non-Jewish communities. Find the latest updates on The Times of Israel.

With more than 4.8 million votes cast as of 6 p.m., here's what voting has looked like around the country. Voter turnout stood at 66.7% as of 6 p.m., according to the Central Elections Committee, which is the highest turnout at this hour in recorded history. Find the latest updates on The Times of Israel's live blog, and join ToI's livestream, starting at 9:30 p.m. IST to parse the first results as they come out.

RT @manniefabian: Voter turnout among IDF soldiers stands at 68% as of 5 p.m., according to the military. Last election, in 2022, it was 65% at this hour.

UPDATE: Voter turnout stood at 55.7% as of 4 p.m., according to the Central Elections Committee, up from 47.5% at the same time in the 2022 election. It is the highest turnout ever recorded at this hour. Hourly figures have been measured since 1973. Dean Livne, acting director general of the Central Elections Committee, says that more than 4 million voters have cast their ballots so far. He says the large city with the highest voter turnout as of 4 p.m. is Modiin, with 60.7%, followed by Tel Aviv with 50.5%, Jerusalem with 47.7%, and Haifa with 46.3%. Find the latest updates on The Times of Israel.

Actress Gal Gadot posted an Instagram story of herself casting a vote in Israel’s election on Tuesday morning. “That’s it, I’m exercising my right to vote, and I ask all of you to go out and exercise your most basic, most important, the most democratic right, and to vote for who you believe in,” said Gadot in a recording she made of herself at the polling booth. Read more:

RT @talschneider: Daily Briefing Oct. 27: Higher Arab turnout could mean evening lines, delayed exit polls דרך @timesofisrael

Prison service says voter turnout among prisoners stands at 68.1% as of 2 p.m.

Voter turnout at 44.9% as of 2 p.m., highest at this hour since 1973 election

Yashar accuses Netanyahu of laying groundwork to challenge election results with baseless fraud claims

RT @manniefabian: The IDF says troops killed a Palestinian terror operative who crossed the "Yellow Line" in the southern Gaza Strip earlier today. "Immediately after the identification, the forces eliminated the terrorist to remove the threat," the army says.

RT @manniefabian: Voter turnout among IDF soldiers stands at 48% as of 1 p.m., according to the military. Last election, in 2022, it was 44.4% at this hour.

Amid high turnout, election committee says polling stations will stay open after 10 p.m. if people are waiting in line