A recap for those just waking up

If you’re just tuning in now, here are some things that happened overnight.

Buoyed by promising exit polls, Netanyahu gave a victory speech to supporters in Tel Aviv, vowing to build a “strong national government” and heal the nation’s rifts. You can read our report here.

Gantz, meanwhile, expressed disappointment with the projected results but didn’t concede. Read more about it here.

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman ruled out joining a Netanyahu-led government of religious and right-wing parties.

And Labor-Gesher-Meretz, coasting to a likely embarrassing showing in Monday’s election, blamed Blue and White’s campaign tactics.

The revised exit polls gave the right-wing bloc led by Netanyahu 59 Knesset seats, two shy of a majority. The televised polls had originally given the right 60 seats.

The election count is slower than usual and it’ll likely be hours before the country knows whether Netanyahu has 61 seats to form a coalition or whether the political deadlock plaguing Israel for a year continues.