German woman Shani Louk, paraded naked by Hamas, dies. Israel says ‘heartbroken’

The mother of Shani Louk, a German citizen who was believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas, says that she has received information from the Israeli military that her daughter is dead.

“Unfortunately, we received the news yesterday that my daughter is no longer alive,” Ricarda Louk said. Her sister Adi also confirmed the death of Shani Louk in a post on Instagram, saying, “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of my sister, Shani Nicole Z.L. [may her memory be a blessing], who was on October 7, 2023, at the party massacre in Re’im.”

In a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Shani Louk’s body had been “found and identified.”

There has been no official confirmation from the German Foreign Ministry yet.

Shani Louk was missing since October 7

Shani Louk went missing while attending the Supernova music festival in southern Israel where Hamas attacked on October 7. In the aftermath of the attacks, pictures and videos shared online showed a young woman, believed to be Shani Louk, lying face down in a pick-up truck driven by Hamas. It was unclear from the footage whether she was alive or not.

At the time, her family said that had information that she had been critically injured but was receiving treatment in a hospital in the Gaza Strip.

Shani Louk had German and Israeli citizenship. As per media reports, she had never lived in Germany but regularly visited the country to stay with relatives. Her mother Ricarda, who has roots in southern Germany, had emigrated to Israel after converting from Catholicism to Judaism while her grandparents are based in the southern German city of Ravensburg, it was reported.