Overview

• Testifying on the seventh day of the trial, the Israeli defendant said he jumped on Stephan Hensel during the New Year’s operation and then fled toward the German–Danish border as the children were driven off.
• He stated he was tasked by the head of an Israeli security firm because of his martial arts experience and maintained he joined to help the children rather than for payment.
• Arrested in Cyprus in September 2024 and held in Hamburg since November, he is the only accused in custody, alongside Christina Block and a Block-Group lawyer as main defendants.
• Prosecutors charge aggravated abduction of minors, deprivation of liberty and bodily harm; alleged security-firm figures David Barkay and Keren Tenenbaum are sought on international warrants.
• Block has denied commissioning the operation and recently declined further questioning, with her lawyer citing reported WhatsApp contact from her ex-husband to daughter Greta as the reason for invoking silence.