Iran Press/Middle East: Benjamin Netanyahu, who became Israel's longest-serving prime minister in July, is seeking a record fifth term in office.
He is competing against former army chief Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White party.
However, the first round of exit polls showed that Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition bloc have failed to secure the 61 seat majority they needed, France 24 reported.
Two exit polls put Gantz's party in a narrow lead. A Channel 12 exit poll said it would win 34 seats, with Netanyahu's Likud one seat behind. The poll had Arab Joint List on 11 seats with eight for former Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman’s far-right Yisrael Beiteinu.
Meanwhile, an exit poll on Channel 13 put Likud at 31 seats, trailing Gantz's party by two seats.
While the results do not guarantee that Gantz will be the next prime minister, they signaled that Netanyahu could have real trouble holding on to the job.101/218
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