Israeli firefighters have reined in a blaze that had spread across the country's third-largest city of Haifa.

Benjamin Netanyahu has put himself at the helm of a hardline Israeli government that appears to be on a collision course with the US and other key allies by forming a new coalition.

Israelis are voting in elections following a campaign focused on economic issues such as the high cost of living, rather than fears of a nuclear Iran or the Israeli-Arab conflict.