Voter turnout in Israel’s hard-fought legislative elections reached 55.7 percent by 0500 PM local, the highest figure recorded for that hour since 1973, when records began, according to the Central Elections Committee.

Din Livneh, the committee’s acting chair, said over 4.08 million voters had cast their ballots, compared with a turnout rate of 47.5 percent at the same time in the previous elections, according to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

Likud party requested an extension of voting hours beyond the scheduled 2000GMT closing time, as turnout in the country's parliamentary elections reached a record high for the time of day, Israeli media reported.

Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Solberg will decide on the request, according to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

The committee clarified that anyone arriving at a polling station by 2000GMT would be allowed to vote, even if they cast their ballot after that time.

Preliminary figures show 19.5 percent turnout by noon, compared with 5.78 percent at 12:30 pm on election day in 2022, further data will determine whether the trend continues until polling stations close.

The party of Gadi Eisenkot, the main challenger to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warned the premier was preparing to challenge the results of the election by claiming it was being stolen.

"Netanyahu is in a panic - and he's laying the groundwork to challenge the results," Eisenkot's Yashar party said. "We have to be ahead of Likud by a huge margin; only then will there be no room to sow doubt about the results."

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir accused Netanyahu of planning to form a US-backed government that excludes him.

In a post on X, Ben-Gvir said Netanyahu had "promised the US administration that, following the election, he would form a unity government with Gadi Eisenkot -- and without Ben-Gvir."

The Joint List, an alliance of three Arab parties in Israel, accused Netanyahu of using a fake image generated by AI to exaggerate Arab voter turnout in parliamentary elections.

Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi also challenged Netanyahu’s claims, saying turnout in Jewish towns remained significantly higher than in Arab communities.

"I call on all citizens of Israel to go vote, not to buckle under the heat or the disruptions, to stick to the mission: to replace tonight the worst government since the state was established," said Gadi Eisenkot, the main election challenger of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Amnesty International UK condemned Israel’s elections as “apartheid at the ballot box,” saying millions of Palestinians under occupation cannot vote while Israeli settlers on Palestinian land can.

Its crisis response manager, Kristyan Benedict, cited the lockdown in Hebron, forced displacement and more than 1,500 people killed in Gaza since the October 2025 ceasefire.

“No election result will change what the UK government must do,” he said, urging London to halt arms transfers to Israel, sanction officials implicated in international crimes and demand unrestricted aid access and an end to Gaza’s blockade.