Israeli-German Woman Family Says Shani Louk Is Dead After Being Held Prisoner in Gaza by Hamas

According to her relatives, German-Israeli lady Shani Louk, who was held captive in Gaza by terrorist organization Hamas after the attack on October 7, has been officially declared dead, as reported by The Times of Israel. Louk was at a dance party near the Gaza border when Hamas militants struck and murdered over 260 people. This is when the tragedy was publicized.

The German news station RTL was informed by Louk’s mother Ricarda that her daughter is no longer living, “unfortunately we received the news yesterday.” Louk passed away over night, and her family was notified.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Israel has the right to self-defense and that Louk’s killing was terrorism.

The German Chancellor posted on social media, saying, “The news of Shani Lok’s death is terrible.” Like many, she was ruthlessly killed. This embodies all the heinousness of the Hamas assault, which calls for retribution. He said, “Israel has the right to defend itself because this is terrorism.”

Notably, after watching her in videos that were going popular on the internet, her mother Ricarda Louk started to worry about her daughter because of her unusual tattoos and colored hair.

The Times of Israel said that the recordings, which instantly went viral on social media, showed a face-down, partially nude lady laying in the back of an armed pickup vehicle in Gaza who seemed to be asleep.

Even though the family knew at the time that Louk had died away, they continued to be hopeful.

The Times of Israel reports that Shani Louk’s family was notified via letter on Sunday night by the Israeli ZAKA rescue team that a bone from her base of the skull, which is necessary for survival, had been found. They also said that it had been shown via DNA testing to have belonged to her.

Hamas launched a heavy onslaught on the southern part of Israel on October 7. Over 200 individuals from Israeli border communities have been abducted by Hamas and hauled over the Gazan border since the attack. Among them are a number of foreign nationals and dual citizens.

As part of the military reaction to the Hamas assaults, which authorities claim claimed 1,400 lives, largely civilians, and kidnapped 239 more, Israeli soldiers have increased their ground operations in Gaza.