Lapid urges Netanyahu to renew probe into Haymanot Kasau disappearance

ByKESHET NEEVJULY 28, 2026 21:03Updated: JULY 28, 2026 21:13Opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to order a renewed investigation into the disappearance of Haymanut Kasau, calling for further government involvement as the missing young girl’s father continued his calls for authorities to locate her.Kasau, nine years old at the time of her disappearance, has been missing since February 2024. Urging further action, her parents have repeatedly said that not nearly enough has been done to find their daughter.Netanyahu said in January for the first time that he would personally involve himself in the case. He made the statement nearly two years since she was last seen in Safed, and he met with Kasau’s family at the time.Since January, the Prime Minister’s Office has not given an update regarding Netanyahu’s involvement in the case.In his letter to the prime minister, Lapid urged that all state authorities “act decisively and with the full resources at their disposal” to locate Kasau.Rescue teams searching for 9-year-old Haymanut Kasau, in the northern Israeli city of Tzfat, February 28, 2024. (credit: DAVID COHEN/FLASH 90)Lapid: deploy every resource necessary to re-examine the case“I call on the government to immediately instruct all relevant authorities to concentrate and deploy every resource necessary to re-examine every possible investigative direction, and to update both the family and the public on the steps being taken to locate Haymanut,” Lapid wrote.Kasau’s father, Tesfaye, welcomed Lapid’s letter, calling for increased action and for the case to be handled without political considerations.“My daughter was nine years old when she was abducted 884 days ago. She doesn’t care about political affiliation,” he said.Tesfaye appealed to authorities on Tuesday again to locate his daughter and return her to her family.Further responding to Lapid’s letter, the child’s father added, “I thank you from the bottom of my heart for appealing to the government to expand the resources dedicated to searching for Haymanut.”He added, “As an Israeli citizen, my daughter deserves for everything possible to be done to rescue her and bring her home.”“I ask and plead that this not become about one side or another, Black or white, but only about doing the right thing, doing everything possible so that our future can be brighter,” Tesfaye said.Kasau was last seen near an absorption center in Safed. Security camera footage placed her at the center’s entrance. She immigrated to the city with her family from Ethiopia in 2021.Since her disappearance, numerous Knesset committee meetings have taken place on the matter, attended by police, MKs, and Kasau’s family.Her family has pushed for further action to be taken by the government and has called to form a nationwide campaign that would raise public awareness of Kasau’s disappearance.Her family has also been requesting the involvement of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) in the case, saying the investigation has remained stalled for years under the Israel Police.Follow us on Google