Shani Louk’s heartbroken father said today the kidnapped festival-goer was “killed on the spot” by Hamas terrorists and “did not suffer.”
Nissim Louk said his 22-year-old daughter was dancing with her friends at the Nova electronic festival near Kibbutz Reim on October 7 when Hamas gunmen began shooting everyone they saw.
Mr Louk claimed that Shani and her friends tried to escape the massacre in their car, but 10 minutes later they were met by Hamas gunmen who fired at the vehicle, killing his daughter “instantly”. He said his daughter “did not suffer.”
However, Israeli President Yitzchak Herzog claimed today that the young festival-goer had been beheaded and that Israeli officials had found the base of her skull. It’s not clear now what exactly happened to Shani before she died.
“I’m really sorry to inform you that we have now received news that Shani Nicole Louk’s death has been confirmed.” “Her skull has been found,” Herzog told Germany’s Bild newspaper.
“This means that these barbaric, sadistic animals simply chopped off her head while they were attacking, torturing and killing Israelis. “It is a great tragedy and I extend my deepest condolences to her family.”
For more than three weeks, Shani’s family waited helplessly for news that their beloved daughter had survived the Hamas attack and could be released by the terrorists.
But this morning, her heartbroken mother and sister announced the news they had been dreading.
“Unfortunately we received the news yesterday that my daughter is no longer alive,” said mother Ricarda on German broadcaster RTL. Shani’s sister Adi wrote on Instagram that she “announced with great sadness the death of my sister.”
Shani Louk, 22, was kidnapped from Israel to Gaza by Hamas terrorists on October 7 from the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Reim. In the dawn raid, Hamas gunmen took at least 200 hostages and killed about 1,400 people
Ms Louk’s motionless body was paraded by Hamas gunmen following the attack on the festival in Israel. It was unclear whether she was still alive in the video, although her mother later stated that she was alive and being held in a hospital in Gaza
Nissim Louk said his 22-year-old daughter was dancing with her friends at the Nova electronic festival near Kibbutz Reim on October 7 when Hamas gunmen began shooting everyone they saw
Shani’s sister Adi wrote on Instagram that she “announced with great sadness the death of my sister.”
The circumstances of Shani’s death are unclear. The German-Israeli woman had been paraded through the streets in front of a jeering crowd who spit on her motionless body in disgusting scenes.
It was unclear whether she was still alive in the video, although her mother later stated that she was alive and being held in a hospital in Gaza.
But her family now believes that Shani was killed on the same day, possibly with a shot in the head.
Shani’s father claimed his daughter was shot ten minutes after fleeing the festival, suggesting she was dead in the footage of her lying motionless in the back of the truck.
“Until about 6:45.” [on October 7]“Shani was still dancing, cheering and raving at the party and was surrounded by all her best friends,” Mr Louk told Israeli news site N12. He said her family called a distressed Shani after hearing reports of rockets in the area before she fled in her car.
Mr Louk claimed his 22-year-old daughter raced down the road to escape the terrorists, but the gunmen fired at their vehicle.
“She was killed on the spot and not only did she not suffer – ten minutes earlier she was having fun,” Mr Louk said.
Shani’s mother Ricarda told RTL: “At least she didn’t suffer.”
But her comments came after the Israeli president claimed that Shani was murdered by the terrorists and beheaded after part of her skull was found. It is not yet known where her skull was found.
Shani’s cousin told The Jerusalem Post that Israeli forces told the family that a bone from the base of the 22-year-old’s skull had been found.
The IDF and Zaka Emergency Response Team volunteers said the bone from the base of the skull, without which a human cannot survive, matched Shani’s DNA.
Shani had been dancing with her friends at the music event on October 7th and did not notice the black-clad paragliders flying down onto the fields surrounding the festival with their grenades and machine guns.
But soon the young revelers heard the sound of air raid sirens and saw the rockets streaking overhead.
Shani was one of numerous festival-goers kidnapped in the brutal attack that left 260 people dead. The harrowing video shows her unconscious body in the back of a truck, one leg at an unnatural angle, as she is surrounded by four terrorists shouting “Allahu Akbar.”
Shani’s friend, Mexican citizen Orión Hernández Radoux, was also said to have been kidnapped by terrorists in the attack.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose government has strongly supported Israel in its retaliatory offensive against Gaza, said Hamas must be held responsible for Shani’s death.
“This news is terrible for me,” said Scholz during an official visit to Nigeria. “This shows all the barbarism that lies behind Hamas.”
Her family had sharply criticized the German government for ignoring her calls for help after they were told she was still living in Gaza.
A few days after her abduction, Shani’s aunt Orly Louk and her uncle Wilfried Gehr appealed to the federal government in a television interview on the “ZDF aktuell” program.
They said: “We have been begging the German government for help for three days.”
“We are unsettled and completely disappointed that the federal government does not feel responsible.” One person from the Foreign Office said he had no time because they had to rebook flights. This makes me so angry.’
Shani is German but grew up in Israel and was one of hundreds of partygoers at the Nova festival, where Hamas carried out a massacre of around 260 civilians.
According to the magazine “Der Spiegel”, the tattoo artist and pacifist had never lived in Germany, but has a German passport and visited her grandparents in Ravensburg in the southern German state of Baden-Württemberg several times.
This came a day after Shani’s mother Ricarda – a Catholic who later converted to Judaism and emigrated to Israel – announced that she had received news from Palestine that her daughter was still alive.
The news had sparked new hope after videos emerged showing an unconscious and partially naked Shani being led through the streets by Hamas terrorists as onlookers spit on her motionless body.
Shani Louk (right) is pictured next to her cousin
Orly Louk, aunt of 22-year-old Shani Louk, sits on a couch and shows a photo of her niece commenting on the German government’s indifference to her plight
Shani, 22, was German but grew up in Israel and was one of hundreds of unsuspecting partygoers at the Nova festival, where Hamas carried out a massacre of around 260 civilians
Ricarda Louk told German broadcaster Bild on on October 10: “We now have evidence that Shani is alive but has a serious head injury and is in a critical condition.” Every minute is crucial.
“You must act quickly and get Shani out of Gaza!” she said in the message addressed to German officials. “We shouldn’t argue about jurisdictional issues now!”
Orly said Shani refused to undertake military service, which is mandatory for Israelis, because of her pacifist views, adding that her German passport helped.
Ricarda previously posted a heartbreaking video pleading for help to find out what happened to her daughter.
Holding a photo of Shani on her cellphone, Ricarda said on October 9, “This morning my daughter Shani Nicole Louk, a German citizen, was kidnapped by the Palestinian Hamas with a group of tourists in southern Israel.”
“We were sent a video in which I could clearly see our daughter unconscious in the car with the Palestinians driving through the Gaza Strip.”
“I ask you to send us any help or news. Thank you.’
The video shows a smiling Shani, who, according to her family, enjoyed traveling and dancing at the music festival just before she was captured by the terrorists
Shani’s mother Ricarda holds up a picture of her daughter on her phone in an emotional video appeal, asking for help to find out what happened to her daughter
Shani, who grew up in Israel but has a German passport, refused to take up military service, which is mandatory for Israelis, because of her views
Hamas had claimed that the body was that of an Israeli soldier. However, her cousin Tomasina Weintraub-Louk confirmed that it was Shani. She told Web that the family recognized her distinctive leg tattoos and dreadlocked hair.
She said: “We haven’t heard anything.” We’re hoping for positive news. It’s definitely Shani.
“She was at a music festival for peace.” “This is a nightmare for our family.”
Tomasina said she and other family members tried desperately to contact Shani and her Mexican boyfriend but were unable to get through.
“We knew she was in the party, she didn’t respond,” Tomasina said.
Her parents said they had not heard from their daughter since a call early on Oct. 7, shortly after Hamas fired its first rockets.
But her family said they had since received information from their bank that Shani’s credit card had been used in Gaza.
German tattoo artist Shani Louk, in her early 20s, was in Israel to take part in a peace rave
Her family, desperately hoping that Shani was still alive despite the footage of her body, said she was a pacifist and peace activist known for her involvement in organizing music festivals
Palestinian fighters are seen cheering and driving away as Shani’s body lies motionless in the back of the truck
The music festival attended by Shani was one of the first places attacked by the terrorist group.
Survivors described how the gunmen went “tree by tree” and executed victims.
Clips posted on social media show revelers being forced to hide under bushes and record muffled farewell messages to loved ones as they watched victims being killed one by one.
Many lay silent and afraid for more than five hours before hearing the sounds of armed rescuers speaking in Hebrew.
The Palestinian terrorist group stormed the Nova festival held near Kibbutz Re’im near the Gaza Strip as part of its surprise attack launched on October 7.
On October 11, harrowing dashcam footage of the incident showed gunmen executing civilians lying on the sand before rummaging through their pockets and emptying bags from their cars.
Palestinian militants brandished weapons as they rode on trucks through Israeli territory on October 7, 2023
On October 7, 2023, Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken off the streets and driven back into Gaza
In a second video shared widely on social media, a woman shouting “Don’t kill me!” is seen being driven away by an armed man on a motorcycle.
She has since been identified as Noa Argamani, 25, a student who was arrested at the same outdoor peace festival near the border that she had attended with her boyfriend.
Esther Borochov, who fled the rave party, said she survived by playing dead in a car after the driver who tried to help her escape was shot at close range.
Bodies of Israeli civilians lay scattered on the streets of Sderot in southern Israel, near Gaza, surrounded by broken glass. The bodies of a woman and a man lay sprawled across the front seats of a car.
“When I went out, I saw lots of corpses of terrorists, civilians and cars shot up. “A sea of corpses, in Sderot along the road, in other places, lots of corpses,” said Shlomi from Sderot.
Frightened Israelis barricaded in safe rooms spoke by phone on live television about their plight.
Other footage showed captured soldiers and civilians – some dead – being paraded through the streets of Gaza.
After mediation from Qatar and Egypt, Hamas has so far released four hostages. Two elderly Israeli women were released on Monday, while an American-Israeli woman and her daughter were released on October 20.