Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Monday, July 31, 2023
Report: Kidnapped Israeli freed in Ethiopia and set to return home
Screen capture from video of Ethiopian-Israeli Francis Adbabayi who was kidnapped for ransom in Ethiopia, July 2023. (Kan. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
The Israeli citizen kidnapped in Ethiopia three weeks ago has been freed and will return to Israel, according to a Channel 12 news report.
According to the report, Ethiopian special forces release Francis Adbabayi, 79, from Rishon Lezion, from his captors following a shootout near the Sudanese border.
The report adds that Adbabayi’s family contacted National Unity MK Pnina Tamano-Shata after becoming disillusioned with the Foreign Ministry’s handling of the matter.
The former immigration and absorption minister reportedly sought the assistance of an Ethiopian-Israeli man with contacts in the Ethiopian special forces and secret services for assistance freeing Adbabayi.
