Around 70 percent of the ballots have been counted and Israel's prime minister, Mr. Netanyahu of the Likud party, is slightly ahead of his competitor, Mr. Gantz of the Blue and White party. Netanyahu was the prime minister of Israel since 2009 and is known to have very conservative policies. Besides experience, Netanyahu is fully backed by President Trump, who has supported him in various ways by declaring Israel's capital as Jerusalem and leaving the Iran nuclear deal. Additionally, he faces charges for bribery and is criticized for trying to restrict the power of the courts, officials, and police. Netanyahu also hasn't made much progress on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Worse, the prime minister seems far from accepting of Arabs, even collaborating with a racist group.
On the opposing side is Mr. Gantz, a left-wing retired soldier who is relatively new to politics and says he will restore democratic values to Israel. Although he has enough supporters to rival Netanyahu, Gantz faces accusations from the Likud Party which tried to reduce his authority. Some of these accusations ranged from vulnerability to mental stability.
There is still no clear winner, but it is a close race.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/09/world/middleeast/israel-election-results.html
~ April 9, 2019