German-Israeli Shani Louk is confirmed dead, 3 weeks after Hamas captured her and paraded her through Gaza in her underwear
- German-Israeli woman Shani Louk has been confirmed dead, Israel's foreign ministry said.
- A video showed her semi-naked body on the back of a truck surrounded by Hamas militants.
German-Israeli woman Shani Louk, whose semi-naked body was paraded through the streets of Gaza by Hamas militants, has been confirmed dead.
"We are devastated to share that the death of 23-year-old German-Israeli Shani Luk was confirmed," Israel's foreign ministry said on X.
"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 her memory be a blessing."
Louk's mother, Ricarda Louk, told German broadcaster RTL/ntv that Israeli officials said a skull fragment had been as her daughter's based on DNA evidence.
Louk had been attending a festival near the Kibbutz Re'im when Hamas militants stormed the area on October 7, killing more than 260 people.
In total, more than 1,400 people were killed and 200 were kidnapped in the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel that day, which targeted the festival as well as towns and military bases.
In it, the woman appeared to be stripped to her underwear, and her legs were bent at unnatural angles while one soldier grabbed her hair. People were also seen spitting on her body.
Her face wasn't visible, but her dreadlocks and tattoos helped her family identify her as Louk, The Washington Post reported.
Days after the attack, her mother, Ricarda Louk, told Bild that her daughter had called her while at the festival, and said she was looking for ways to flee with her boyfriend and others. She told her daughter to seek refuge at a local shelter but then heard gunfire ring out on the other end of the phone, she told the outlet.
Ricarda told Bild that Palestinian sources told her that her daughter was alive in a Hamas hospital, but suffered a "severe head injury."
"We now have reasons to believe that Shani is alive but has had a severe head injury and is in critical condition. Every minute is critical," Ricarda told Bild at the time.
However, speaking to German broadcaster RTL/ntv on Monday, Ricarda said she now believes her daughter has been dead since October 7.
"Unfortunately we received news yesterday that my daughter is no longer alive," she said.
In the RTL interview, Ricarda said a skull fragment indicated she had likely been killed on October 7 with a bullet to the head. It is unclear where the fragment of her skull had been found.
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told The Times of Israel on Sunday that 239 people had now been confirmed kidnapped in the October 7 attacks. The number does not include the 4 hostages released by Hamas.
Israeli forces have launched waves of devastating airstrikes in Gaza in the wake of the October 7 attacks, which Palestinian authorities say have killed more than 8,000 people.
With the Israeli military intensifying its military operations in Gaza, the families of Israeli hostages on Saturday expressed concern for their safety, and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure their release, CNN reported.