12-year-old girl found dead in Tel Aviv, police suspect mother’s partner

A 12-year-old girl was found dead in a south Tel Aviv apartment Monday evening, police said in a statement.

There was reportedly evidence of severe violence to her body, and police said that a criminal investigation had been opened into the circumstances surrounding her death.

Hebrew-language media reported that the partner of the teen’s mother was the main suspect, and that a manhunt had been launched to find him. He was identified by police as Eritrean national Tesfebarhan Tesfasion.

The girl, Sylvana Tsegai, was said to be the daughter of Eritrean asylum seekers.

According to reports, the teen’s mother discovered her daughter’s body in an apartment on Tel Aviv’s Huna Street, and immediately summoned emergency services.

The girl’s father, who is separated from her mother, was said to have been immediately ruled out as a suspect.

At the request of police, a court placed a gag order on much of the investigation.

The Israel Women’s Network said the teenager’s death confirmed that it is a “time of emergency” for women in the country.

“It is time for the government to join the war for the lives of women in Israel,” the advocacy group said in a statement.

It was the second case in a day that a teenage girl was found dead with foul play suspected.

Earlier on Monday, authorities said that forensic teams positively identified a body found in the northern village of Jish as belonging to Yara Ayoub, 16, who had been missing since last Wednesday.

Police said a man arrested in connection with the disappearance of the teenager is suspected in her murder, as a second suspect was also arrested in connection with the crime.

The murder suspect was described as a 28-year-old man, who was arrested Saturday on suspicion of kidnapping Ayoub and obstructing the investigations.

He has denied the charges against him. In a statement Monday, his attorney said that police have connected him to the crime because they believe he was the last person who made contact with Ayoub. “I believe that upon completion of the investigation he will be released home,” the lawyer asserted.

The second suspect, arrested Monday, was described as a 53-year-old man.

Both are slated to appear before judges on Tuesday for remand hearings.

Ayoub was last seen on Wednesday at 5 p.m. when she went to a bakery in Jish, an Upper Galilee town of some 3,000 people.

Police have not released details on the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and death, and have placed a gag order on much of the investigation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday announced he would chair a new ministerial committee dedicated to combating domestic violence, and called for “much more” to be done to counter the phenomenon in Israel.

Speaking to the cabinet on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women after visiting a women’s shelter, Netanyahu said an increase in violence against women in Israel in recent years was “a criminal phenomenon” and called for stricter enforcement.