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Missing Israelis Mali and Liel Yahalomi reportedly traveled from Austria to Germany before boarding a flight to Argentina, a significant development that appears to shed new light on the mysterious disappearance of the mother and daughter.

Israeli media reported Friday evening that the two left Vienna aboard a train bound for Germany and subsequently took a flight from Germany to Argentina.

While authorities have not officially established where Mali and Liel are currently located within Argentina, investigators have reportedly confirmed that the pair purchased airline tickets and boarded the flight from Germany.

The development came after Austrian police confirmed earlier Friday that the mother and daughter had departed Austria on their own. Authorities said there was currently no indication that the pair had been victims of a violent crime.

According to Austrian media reports, Vienna police checked local hospitals and conducted internal inquiries in an effort to determine what had happened to the two women. Police did not, however, launch an official public missing-person search because authorities determined there were insufficient legal grounds to do so.

Israeli investigators also reported making headway Friday in reconstructing the movements of Mali and Liel before their disappearance from contact.

“We have made progress in mapping out the pair’s timeline and activity,” Israel Police sources said.

Investigators have reportedly succeeded in establishing additional details about the pair’s movements and activities, helping close some of the gaps in the timeline surrounding the case.

“We hope there will be a breakthrough soon,” the sources added.

The developments followed days of intense speculation over what might have happened to the mother and daughter. Earlier, their family appealed to Israeli security and law enforcement authorities not to dismiss any possible explanation until it had been thoroughly investigated.

“For a week now, we wake up every morning with the same prayer – to find you safe and sound and bring you home. Please do not stop searching,” the family said.

Relatives added that they “demand all security and investigative authorities continue examining all potential scenarios, including the possibility of a terror-related motive, until it is definitively ruled out based on concrete findings.”

New surveillance footage obtained during the investigation also provided important evidence about the pair’s departure from their accommodations in Vienna. The video shows Mali and Liel leaving the apartment building where they had been staying while carrying their personal belongings. No other individual can be seen accompanying them.

Before reports emerged that the two had traveled onward to Argentina, a senior official familiar with the investigation said Friday that authorities believed Mali and Liel remained alive. At the time, however, investigators still had not determined why they had disappeared or stopped communicating with those searching for them.

The Trump administration is preparing to unleash a new round of economic measures against Iran next week that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says will go further than anything previously attempted against another country, as diplomatic efforts to end the nearly six-month conflict remain stalled.

Bessent offered a preview of the coming pressure campaign during an interview Thursday night with Newsmax host Rob Schmitt, although he stopped short of revealing precisely what actions the Treasury Department intends to take.

“Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country,” Bessent said.

The Treasury secretary has spearheaded Operation Economic Fury, the administration’s financial campaign against Tehran that has accompanied the Pentagon’s Operation Epic Fury. Bessent has pointed to earlier US economic pressure as a factor in the severe inflation that struck Iran and helped fuel large-scale protests in December and January.

The administration has already moved aggressively against Iranian revenue streams, targeting money changers, cryptocurrency networks and other financial channels. Those efforts have unfolded alongside President Trump’s naval blockade, which has sharply curtailed Iranian oil exports.

Bessent did not disclose what additional measures Washington intends to announce. Treasury officials face legal restrictions on publicly revealing sanctions before they are formally imposed, leaving the precise nature of the coming actions unclear.

“The kinetic war ended after several weeks, and we went from Epic Fury to Economic Fury. And at the president’s orders, we have raised the level even again,” he said on Newsmax.

Bessent argued that Washington’s strategy differs from previous attempts to economically isolate hostile governments because the financial campaign is being combined with direct physical pressure on Iran’s ability to conduct international commerce.

“I think the reason we are succeeding is because it is a one-two punch. People say, ‘Well, you know, Cuba lasted a long time. Venezuela lasted a long time.’ Venezuela immediately crumbled when we put the blockade on.

“So it will be a combination of economic isolation like the world has never seen before, and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports,” Bessent said.

The Treasury secretary’s comments come as negotiations aimed at bringing the conflict to an end have struggled to produce a breakthrough, while the administration continues attempting to squeeze Tehran financially and restrict its access to international markets.

Bessent also sharply rejected claims from Democrats who have argued that Iran has emerged stronger despite the US campaign, saying those making such assertions are “uninformed, deranged, and have no idea what they’re talking about.”