Both leaders have said they will attempt to form a coalition government. Arab-led parties, meanwhile, could win 19 seats, potentially emerging as kingmakers. However, all but one of the Jewish parties have decided against working with them.
Between 430,000 and 480,000 postal ballots from various groups, including soldiers, diplomats and hospital patients, are still awaiting counting. The final election results could take another day or two to emerge.
Once the results are confirmed, President Isaac Herzog will hold consultations with all political parties before inviting a leader to form a government. The process could take several weeks.
If the attempts to form a government fail, Israel will have to hold another election.
Herzog said the election demonstrated the strength of democratic participation in the country.
"This is a source of pride for Israeli society, and it was remarkable to see how deep the desire for democracy is in Israel," he said.
He added that he expected to receive the official results next week, after which he would begin discussions with all parties.
"Certainly, every effort must be made to avoid another round of elections. Therefore, I hope that everyone who comes here will come with an open mind," Herzog said.
Netanyahu and his main rival have both insisted that they should be invited to form the next government.
Eisenkot, the leader of the opposition alliance, initially claimed that the public had voted for change, based on early exit polls.
Exit polls released by Israel's three broadcasters had projected that Eisenkot's "Change Bloc" would secure 52 to 53 seats in the Israeli parliament, while Netanyahu's coalition was expected to win 50 seats.
Speaking to supporters at the Yashar Party's election headquarters in Tel Aviv, Eisenkot said, "The failed coalition has lost the public's trust. I will work with my colleagues to ensure that the public's decision is translated into a Zionist government."
Broadcasters subsequently updated their exit polls. Two projected a tie between the two blocs at 51 seats each, while the third gave Netanyahu's bloc a narrow lead of three seats.
Netanyahu later arrived at Likud's headquarters in Jerusalem and declared that his right-wing bloc had secured a "massive majority".
"We must form a strong right-wing national government. It is absolutely forbidden to endanger Israel by forming a government dependent on anti-Zionist Arab parties," he said.
As counting continued on Wednesday, Netanyahu's bloc appeared to have performed better than the exit polls had predicted, heading towards 53 seats. However, the figure was 15 seats fewer than the bloc had won in the previous parliament.
The election, held on Tuesday, was the first since Hamas's deadly attacks on 7 October 2023 and the subsequent wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Many Israelis viewed it as one of the most consequential elections in the country's history, as it could determine not only the country's leadership but also whether Israel would continue along its current hardline religious-nationalist path.
The key election issues included accountability for security failures that led to the 7 October attacks, the conduct of regional wars, military conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, judicial reforms and Israel's international standing.
Avigail Levin, who lives in Kfar Saba, voted for former prime minister Naftali Bennett's opposition Bayachad Party. She told BBC News that she was disappointed with the election results.
"I hoped for new leadership. I think we need it as a nation. Those who were in power on 7 October should no longer be in power," she said.
Levin said people were frustrated that Netanyahu had not taken responsibility for the events three years ago, when around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
Her husband's grandmother was among those killed in Kibbutz Be'eri.
Gal, who lives in Ramat Gan, said he had voted for Netanyahu because Israelis could not live peacefully with neighbours whose only objective was to eliminate Jews.
He also said he was "afraid of the strengthening of Arab political parties".
On Wednesday, Likud alleged that the election had been "stolen". The party accused unnamed individuals of using bribery, threats, violence, fraud and prohibited software to influence voters, but provided no evidence to support its claims.
The Central Elections Committee said it would investigate the allegations as part of a post-election review.
Two Arab parties, the United Arab List and the Joint List, are expected to nearly double their number of seats, following a significant increase in voter turnout among Arab Israelis.
Arab Israelis make up around one-fifth of Israel's population and often describe themselves as Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Mahdi Kabaha, who lives in a village near Haifa and campaigned to encourage Arab voters to participate in the election, described the result as "historic".
"Arab citizens came out and clearly said: We want a real right to have a voice in this country," he said.
Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen told the BBC that Arab voters had also been motivated by the possibility of removing far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from power.
Jabareen accused Ben-Gvir of racism and "incitement against our community".
Ben-Gvir, the leader of the Jewish Power Party, has called for the annexation of the occupied West Bank, the establishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza and the "voluntary migration" of Palestinians.
Several Western countries have imposed sanctions on him over allegations of incitement against Palestinians.
Mansour Abbas, leader of the United Arab List, which served in the short-lived governing coalition formed after the 2021 election, said on Tuesday night that he hoped the numbers would work in their favour.
He said the United Arab List and the Change Bloc could together ensure that there were 61 seats in parliament.
Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing Democrats Party, told his colleagues in Eisenkot's bloc that there was an opportunity to form a transformative government in partnership with Arab parties and replace Netanyahu's coalition.
"If we do not stop being afraid, and if we do not eliminate racism, we have no future here," Golan wrote on X.
However, Eisenkot has previously opposed such a coalition or set conditions for its formation.
These conditions include recognising Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and accepting Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
The right-wing parties within his alliance have completely rejected any such coalition.
Jabareen said, "The opposition parties cannot set any conditions. If the opposition in Israel is genuinely and concretely ready to bring about change and offer an alternative to this dangerous, far-right government... then they will have to negotiate with us."
The election results could therefore leave Israel facing weeks of coalition negotiations, with the final outcome depending on the official vote count, the president's consultations and whether opposing political blocs can agree on a government.
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