The leader of one of Israel's Arab-majority lists, which are projected to make strong gains in close-fought elections, called on Wednesday for a "genuine Jewish-Arab partnership" to help remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Anyone who wants to offer a substantive and genuine alternative to Netanyahu's blood-soaked government will have to talk to us to secure the path to the change that the public in Israel longs for," Yousef Jabareen, who heads the far-left Joint List, told Israeli media.

Iranian-backed militias carried out a precision strike last month, hitting the pumping stations of Saudi Arabia's most important oil pipeline. Days later, another attack hit a Saudi military air base, damaging an Italian fighter jet inside a hangar.

Crucial to the strikes' success was what was happening in the skies overhead: For days beforehand, a constellation of Russian spy satellites converged over the pipeline and the air base to gather intelligence.

Anxious Israelis watched as election results took shape on Wednesday after voters delivered a rebuke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's far-right government, with the highest turnout in over a quarter-century. Exit polls suggested no clear winner and that weeks of negotiating could lie ahead.

Arab-led factions appear to have made a historic showing, but it's not clear if opponents of the government, who exit polls suggested have a solid majority in the next parliament, are willing to form a coalition with them. Issues around the Palestinians and their descendants remain incredibly sensitive in Israel.

Syria reopened its main border crossing with Jordan on Wednesday as the two countries reaffirmed ties that were strained by a deadly retaliatory strike by Jordanian forces.

Jordan's strike -- a reprisal against a gun attack on a church -- sparked the worst crisis between the two countries since the ousting of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The camp of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was ahead of the opposition on Wednesday after 50 percent of votes were counted in Israel's pivotal general election, figures from the Central Elections Committee showed.

After 50.1 percent of ballots were counted, Netanyahu's bloc was projected to win 56 of the 120 seats in the parliament, compared with 49 for the opposition bloc and 15 for the Arab parties. The partial results are likely to change, and several exit polls showed the camps neck-and-neck without a majority.

Israeli voters on Tuesday gave a narrow edge to opposition parties over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, initial projections showed, after decades-high turnout in the country's first election since the trauma of the October 7, 2023 attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party asked election authorities on Tuesday to extend polling hours as it sought to mobilize voters.

Syria on Tuesday condemned deadly strikes on the country's south a day earlier that Jordan said killed more than 20 jihadists as retaliation for a gun attack on a church.

Qatar on Tuesday said Iran must show good faith with its neighbors to prevent further escalation, following renewed efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war.

The Iranian army on Tuesday said an oil tanker hit mines and caught fire while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz via a route not authorized by Tehran.