Two years after she disappeared
Search Resumes for Missing Girl Hymanut Kassao; Family Demands Kidnapping Classification
Nearly two years after vanishing, a renewed search for 9-year-old Hymanut Kassou draws Knesset members and intensifies calls from her family to reclassify the case as a kidnapping, which would unlock broader investigative powers.
Nearly two years after her disappearance, Israeli authorities launched another search operation today for Hymanut Kassou, who was 9 years old when she vanished in the northern region.
The effort, which included participation from several Knesset members, aims to raise awareness and locate the missing child, with her family urging officials to reclassify the case as a kidnapping rather than a simple disappearance.
The searches were resumed by the Israel Police and the Israel Dog Unit, led by Yekutiel Mike Ben Yaakov. They focused on the Safed area, where Haymanot was last seen.
Knesset members from various political parties joined the operation, including Tsega Melko from Likud, Zvika Fogel from Otzma Yehudit, Naor Shiri from Yesh Atid, and Yitzhak Kroizer from Otzma Yehudit.
In an interview with I24NEWS today, Hymanut's sister, Yerom Kassou, explained the family's demand: "We ask that it be defined as kidnapping." She noted that such a classification would allow for more extensive search methods and a broader investigation, emphasizing that it differs significantly from treating it merely as a disappearance.
Hymanut comes from a family that immigrated from Ethiopia over four years ago. She went missing nearly two years ago in the Safed region after leaving her home, and her whereabouts remain unknown since then.Over the past two years, multiple large-scale searches have been conducted. Authorities have also offered a substantial reward of hundreds of thousands of shekels for any information leading to her discovery.