<p>Benjamin Netanyahu vows to form new coalition while opposition bloc leader says result shows prime minister should step down. Plus, a scathing review of Elon Musk’s AI-generated version of The Odyssey</p><p>Good morning. Israel could be in for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/28/israel-election-exit-polls-suggest-netanyahu-eisenkot-blocs-tied-ntwnfb">weeks of political haggling</a> after exit polls and partial official results showed neither Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition nor the opposition bloc led by the former general Gadi Eisenkot had won enough seats to form a government.</p><p>With 70% of the vote, or 4m ballots, counted so far, the Netanyahu bloc had 54 seats, the Eisenkot-led Change bloc 47 seats, and the Palestinian parties 19 seats. Sixty-one seats are needed for a majority.</p><p><strong>What have the two leaders said so far?</strong> Israel’s longest-serving prime minister vowed to assemble a coalition through agreements between his Likud party, far-right factions and Jewish religious parties. Eisenkot had said earlier in the evening that “people decided in favour of change” and Netanyahu should have “announced today his retirement from politics”.</p><p><strong>What does the increase in the Palestinian bloc mean?</strong> The election was marked by a record participation by Israeli citizens of Palestinian origin, a discriminated minority that makes up about 20% of the country’s population. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/27/palestinian-parties-knesset-election-exit-polls-redraw-israel-political-landscape">Julian Borger explains from Nazareth</a> that opposition leader Eisenkot will have to work with Arab-Israeli leaders to have a hope of governing. Millions of other Palestinians living under Israeli rule in the occupied West Bank and Gaza cannot vote.</p><p><strong>Here is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/28/israel-election-results-what-we-know-so-far-ntwnfb">what we know about the declared results so far</a>.</strong> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/oct/28/israel-election-results-live-updates-exit-polls-netanyahu-likud-eisenkot-latest-news">Our live coverage continues on the website</a>.</p><p><strong>What else has Trump been saying about fossil fuels?</strong> Trump suggested on Tuesday that Venezuela would become the 51st US state as the president <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/27/trump-oil-tanker-venezuela">showed off a tanker</a> he claimed had “1m barrels of oil on it” from the country, nine months after deposing its president.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/28/first-thing-israeli-election-elon-musk-ai-odyssey">Continue reading...</a>
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Both blocs claim upper hand in crucial Israeli election | First Thing
<p>Benjamin Netanyahu vows to form new coalition while opposition bloc leader says result shows prime minister should step down. Plus, a scathing review of Elon Musk’s AI-generated version of The Odyssey</p><p>Good morning. Israel could be in for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/28/israel-election-exit-polls-suggest-netanyahu-eisenkot-blocs-tied-ntwnfb">weeks of political haggling</a> after exit polls and partial official results showed neither Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition nor the opposition bloc led by the former general Gadi Eisenkot had won enough seats to form a government.</p><p>With 70% of the vote, or 4m ballots, counted so far, the Netanyahu bloc had 54 seats, the Eisenkot-led Change bloc 47 seats, and the Palestinian parties 19 seats. Sixty-one seats are needed for a majority.</p><p><strong>What have the two leaders said so far?</strong> Israel’s longest-serving prime minister vowed to assemble a coalition through agreements between his Likud party, far-right factions and Jewish religious parties. Eisenkot had said earlier in the evening that “people decided in favour of change” and Netanyahu should have “announced today his retirement from politics”.</p><p><strong>What does the increase in the Palestinian bloc mean?</strong> The election was marked by a record participation by Israeli citizens of Palestinian origin, a discriminated minority that makes up about 20% of the country’s population. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/27/palestinian-parties-knesset-election-exit-polls-redraw-israel-political-landscape">Julian Borger explains from Nazareth</a> that opposition leader Eisenkot will have to work with Arab-Israeli leaders to have a hope of governing. Millions of other Palestinians living under Israeli rule in the occupied West Bank and Gaza cannot vote.</p><p><strong>Here is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/28/israel-election-results-what-we-know-so-far-ntwnfb">what we know about the declared results so far</a>.</strong> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/oct/28/israel-election-results-live-updates-exit-polls-netanyahu-likud-eisenkot-latest-news">Our live coverage continues on the website</a>.</p><p><strong>What else has Trump been saying about fossil fuels?</strong> Trump suggested on Tuesday that Venezuela would become the 51st US state as the president <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/27/trump-oil-tanker-venezuela">showed off a tanker</a> he claimed had “1m barrels of oil on it” from the country, nine months after deposing its president.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/28/first-thing-israeli-election-elon-musk-ai-odyssey">Continue reading...</a>