Yesterday’s general election in Israel is covered widely. Reports in the Telegraph, Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, Times, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Mirror, Metro and Independent i are based on the exit polls yesterday evening, which indicated a possible dead heat between the Likud Party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Zionist Union led by Isaac Herzog. Such initial indications prompt Ian Black in the Guardian to predict something of a stalemate and a complex and lengthy coalition-building process. However, with almost all the votes counted this morning, the actual results reveal a much more decisive victory for Likud, with a 5-6 seat margin.

The Times reflects on a no-holds-barred campaign, which was at times bitter and largely focused on personalities over issues. The Independent analyses the Likud campaign in an interview with Likud campaign strategist, UK-born Aron Shaviv, who outlines the tactic of “reverse packaging.” Meanwhile, the Times includes an on the ground report from the polls yesterday, which concludes that although Netanyahu himself is unpopular among even some Likud faithful, this core constituency nonetheless “holds its noses and votes for Bibi.”

Also in the Times, Michael Burleigh says that the next Israeli government will need to tackle an “age of chaos” in the Middle East and must look to strengthen relations with moderate regional elements such as the Kurds, Jordan and Egypt. He also predicts that international support for Israel’s position on Iran will be linked to progress towards peace with the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, the online editions of the Guardian, Times and Telegraph all report that an American drone has been lost in Syria, thought to have been downed by government forces. The online editions of the Guardian, Times, Telegraph and Financial Times all include allegations of fresh chemical attacks by the Assad regime in Idlib. Nonetheless, in the Telegraph, Con Coughlin opines that the West has no choice but to work with Assad, given the “overwhelming priority” to defeat ISIS.

In the Israeli media, the dailies are dominated almost entirely by yesterday’s election. However, the print editions are based on last night’s exit polls which proved inaccurate. As a result, the online edition of Yediot Ahronot, Ynet gives a more up to date assessment, proclaiming “Israel wakes to solid Likud win.” Israel Hayom’s front page hails Netanyahu’s victory and headlines a call for Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu to join a Netanyahu-led government.

Meanwhile, in emerging commentary on the election, Chemi Shalev in Haaretz decries a Likud campaign of “fear and loathing.” In Israel Hayom, Boaz Bismuth says that he public defied the pundits’ predictions. Meanwhile, on the NRG website, Amnon Lord puts the Likud victory into context, saying that Netanyahu’s achievement is “greater than his victory in 1996” which came just months after the assassination of former-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Israel Radio news reports this morning that there has been no response yet from the White House or Obama Administration officials to Netanyahu’s victory. Looking ahead, Nahum Barnea in Yediot Ahronot predicts that under Netanyahu’s leadership, “tensions in Israel’s foreign relations will cast a shadow on the economy.”