India, Oct. 30 -- CARA ANNA | IBRAHIM HAZBOUN

Israel's final election results confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc lost its parliamentary majority and that weeks of difficult negotiations among very different parties, from ultra-Orthodox Jewish to secular to Arab-led, lie ahead.

The results released early Friday showed Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats in Tuesday's election. The main opposition bloc won 48.

Arab-led parties secured the other 19, a historic showing. Now parties must meet, bargain and seek a way to team up for at least 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, remains in charge.

"Now comes the truly hard part," centrist politician Yair Lapid said on X, urging pa...