President Isaac Herzog to the Haymanot Kasau family: The Shin Bet is involved in the search

President of the State Isaac Herzog met on Tuesday at the President's Residence with the family members of Haymanot Kasau, who has been missing for about two and a half years, and informed them of a development in the search efforts.

"Haymanot is a child of the entire nation of Israel, and the entire nation of Israel is very worried about her," Herzog told the grieving family members. During the meeting, the President revealed that following a request from the Israel Police, the Shin Bet recently entered the picture and is fully involved in the investigation and the searches. The President shared with the family members that in a conversation he held with the head of the Shin Bet, David Zini, he was updated on the organization's involvement.

"The Shin Bet entered the picture following a request from the Israel Police recently," explained Herzog. It is involved in the case and is putting in all its strength to contribute in any way to finding Haymanot. According to him, the State of Israel is using all the tools at its disposal, and this issue is at the top of the priorities of the law enforcement agencies.

The police have no lead that would explain Haymanot's disappearance: "We have never encountered such a case. Just as they returned the hostages, we hope they will return Haymanot." The 9-year-old girl was last documented at the entrance to the absorption center - and since then her tracks have disappeared.

The family members had previously expressed, on several occasions, their deep frustration with the long time that has passed without a lead. "We demand the intervention of the Shin Bet as soon as possible," said Haymanot's father, Tesfaye Kasau. "We fear that there is difficulty and discrimination because of the language gap or because of skin color." Haymanot's sister, 20-year-old Yaros Kasau, said that since 11th grade she has been dealing only with the searches: "We do not deserve to go through what we are going through. Haymanot is a little girl and we do not know what she is going through."

The family's escort, Tesfaye Bishau, thanked the President and the people of Israel for the support in the prolonged struggle. "The news that the President gave us today is very important to us," noted Bishau. "We believe and are optimistic that Haymanot is alive and she needs to return to her home." He added that he hopes the family will celebrate Haymanot's Bat Mitzvah soon in her home in Jerusalem.

More than 900 days since she disappeared. In February 2024, the disappearance of Haymanot Kasau, a 9-year-old from Safed, was reported for the first time. In the last documentation from a security camera, Haymanot was seen running with friends at the entrance to the absorption center in Safed. Thousands of volunteers, military personnel, and large police forces searched for the missing person for long days but without success. The investigation reached a dead end and was transferred to the Lahav 433 unit.

In the Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, a special discussion was held marking two years since the disappearance of the girl Haymanot. Her parents and other family members who were present at the discussion told of the worry, the longing, and repeated the demand - change her definition to a hostage and add the Shin Bet to the investigation.

Tesfaye Kasau Meshesha, Haymanot's father: "It's been two years and there is no new information, Haymanot was kidnapped inside her home. Our tears have run out, our heart is crying blood. For two years we have been asking for the case to be transferred to stronger bodies. The Shin Bet has more means and capabilities to bring Haymanot home. It's not that the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration is not helping, but just as the pictures of the hostages were everywhere, Haymanot's picture needs to be everywhere. We are new immigrants, we don't know the language, we have no money."