Shani Louk, a German woman who had been captured by Hamas operatives on October 7, has died and her body has been found by the Israeli troops in Gaza, her family and Israel government confirmed today.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the death of my sister,” her sister Adi Louk said on social media.
The 23-year-old was taken hostage when she was attending the Supernova music festival near the Gaza border, which became one of the targets of a surprise Hamas attack on October 7.
After she went missing, an appeal by her mother Ricarda Louk seeking the German and Israeli governments to get Shani Louk back went viral on social media. “We were sent a video in which I could clearly see our daughter unconscious in the car with the Palestinians and them driving around the Gaza Strip,” she had said in the video.
The 23-year-old had been paraded naked in a pick-up truck after being captured. The woman is lying face down in the video shared by Hamas but her family say they identified Ms Louk from her dreadlocks and distinctive tattoos.
Sharing the news of her death on X, Israel said, “Shani who was kidnapped from a music festival and tortured and paraded around Gaza by Hamas terrorists, experienced unfathomable horrors. Our hearts are broken.”
We are devastated to share that the body of 23 year old German-Israeli Shani Luk was found and identified.
Shani who was kidnapped from a music festival and tortured and paraded around Gaza by Hamas terrorists, experienced unfathomable horrors.
Our hearts are broken ?.
May… pic.twitter.com/GLXOmePRAd
— Israel ישראל ?? (@Israel) October 30, 2023
Shani was attending the music festival and clips on social media had shown her dancing and singing with her friends just hours before the Hamas group stormed into the venue.
Around 260 bodies were recovered from the festival site.
