AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EST

Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced on Saturday night that opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot would be given the first chance to form a government after the October 27 elections. Eisenkot, a former military chief who opposed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, expressed his intention to establish a national emergency government and pledged to prove Israel worthy.

He was given up to six weeks to assemble a coalition, a difficult task given the country's deep divisions and the recent Hamas-led attacks and wars in Gaza. Eisenkot received recommendations from most of Israel's main parties to take on the role, but forming a parliamentary majority would still be challenging and require tough compromises that could anger their own voters.