Netanyahu's Likud leads Israeli election count with 97.3% of ballots tallied

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party is leading after 97.3% of ballots were counted following the October 27 parliamentary election.

Report informs, citing The Times of Israel, which quoted the Central Elections Committee.

Likud is projected to win 27 seats in the 120-member Knesset. Yashar, led by Netanyahu's main opposition rival Gadi Eisenkot, is in second place with 21 seats.

The Netanyahu-aligned bloc, including Likud and the far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties in the current governing coalition, remains ahead with a projected 53 seats. Opposition parties are projected to secure 48 seats, while Arab parties are set to win 19.

A coalition controlling at least 61 Knesset seats is needed to form a government. Neither bloc has yet secured that threshold.

Final results will be published no later than November 4.