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Shani Louk: German missing since Hamas terror attacks dead

October 30, 2023

The German-Israeli citizen was believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas militants during the October 7 attacks on Israel. Now, her family and Israeli authorities have confirmed her death.

https://p.dw.com/p/4YBZI
Shani Louk
Shani Louk has been missing since Hamas carried out its terror attacks on October 7Image: shanukkk/instagram

The mother of Shani Louk, a German citizen believed to have been taken hostage by the Hamas militant group, says 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 told German broadcaster RTL/ntv.

Her sister Adi also confirmed the death of Shani in a post on Instagram.

"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 they were "devastated to share that the death of Shani Louk was confirmed."

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

Shani Louk went missing after Hamas terror attacks

Shani Louk went missing while attending the Supernova music festival in southern Israel that came under attack from Hamas militants on October 7. 

In the immediate aftermath of the terror attacks, pictures and videos shared online showed a young woman, believed to be Shani, lying face down in a pick-up truck driven by militants. It was unclear from the footage whether she was alive.

Her family said at the time that they had information she had been critically injured but was receiving treatment in a hospital in the Gaza Strip. 

Hamas militants killed at least 1,400 people during their assault on Israeli communities near the Gaza border. They also took more than 220 people hostage, including several Germans.

Dozens of others are unaccounted for, according to the Israeli military.

Shani Louk had German and Israeli citizenship. She had never lived in Germany, according to German media, but she 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. 

Shani’s grandparents are reportedly based in the southern German city of Ravensburg.

nm/rt (dpa, Reuters)