The 22-year-old German-Israeli woman, who was kidnapped and paraded half-naked by Hamas during the October 7 attack in Israel, has been confirmed dead.
The victim, Shani Louk, was attending the rave party in Reim when Hamas gunmen descended on them. She was believed to have been kidnapped alive by the militants.
The video, showing her half-naked and seemingly unconscious face-down on the back of a pickup truck filled with armed men in Gaza, quickly went viral. Though it didn't seem likely that she was alive, her family held out hope. Louk's mother Ricarda Louk raised alarm about her daughter after she recognised her daughter in the video due to her striking tattoos and dyed hair.
However, members of Louk’s family said they received a letter from the Israeli ZAKA rescue service Sunday night saying that a bone from the base of her skull had been recovered. It was genetically tested and determined to have belonged to Shani. Doctors determined that a person cannot live without the bone found and concluded that Louk could not possibly still be alive.
Louk's sister, Adi, confirmed Shani's death on Instagram.
Ricarda, her mother, also expressed relief after receiving the news. "On the one hand, [I feel] sadness, because there is no chance they will return her; on the other hand, we have clarity at least on what happened to her, and it gives us a kind of closure," she was quoted by The Times of Israel.
She added that though the family was in mourning, it was impossible to have a funeral at this stage because they only had some of Louk’s body parts. Her body remains are still in Gaza.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz too took to social media platform X to condemn her death. "The news of Shani Louk’s death is terrible. Like many others, she was brutally murdered. This shows the full barbarity behind the Hamas attack — who must be held accountable. This is terror, and Israel has the right to defend itself," Scholz added.
Louk's death comes as relatives of Israelis held hostage in Gaza demand Prime Minister Netanyahu to agree to the "all-for-all" deal suggested by Hamas.
Hamas had also released a short video showing three women who are believed to be captives held by the Palestinian militant group. A woman was heard addressing Netanyahu directly with fury. The Prime Minister had called it cruel propaganda.
