Overview

• Stephan Hensel told the court his children now suffer anxiety, nightmares and panic attacks and attend school under assumed names after the New Year’s Eve operation.
• Proceedings were punctuated by disputes over a child‑psychology expert observing the hearing, with defense objections leading to interruptions and a tense close to the day.
• Hensel repeated allegations of past violence and poor care at the mother’s home, which Block rejects as manipulation, while reporting based on files describes inconsistencies in the abuse accounts.
• Prosecutors recently searched 13 sites tied to a failed 2022 attempt and are investigating ex‑BND chief August Hanning and a retired Hamburg LKA officer, neither of whom is charged in the current case.
• One Israeli suspect has signaled willingness to cooperate and another has already given detailed statements from custody, and it remains unclear whether daughter Klara will testify.