Foreign Affairs
German Woman Found Dead After Being Kidnapped By Hamas At Israeli Music Festival And Paraded Through The Streets
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The Israeli government declared German-Israeli citizen Shani Louk dead Monday three weeks after she was kidnapped by Hamas at a music festival and paraded around the streets of Gaza, according to a post from Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
Louk was attending the Tribe of Nova trance music festival, which was attacked by hundreds of Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, before being taken hostage and thrown into the back of a truck in her underwear as the terrorists celebrated the attacks, according to videos circulated on social media. Israel’s Foreign Ministry released a statement Monday and confirmed that the 23-year-old had been killed, adding to the death toll of 1,400 since Hamas’ surprise attack, according to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“We are devastated to share that the death of 23-year-old German-Israeli Shani Luk was confirmed,” the Foreign Ministry wrote. “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, confirmed her daughter’s death to German media after previously expressing hopes that she was still alive, according to the BBC. Ricarda said that the Israeli government had told her that they had determined that her daughter was dead through a DNA sample taken from a skull fragment, but noted that her body had still not been found.
“At least she [Shani] didn’t suffer,” Ricarda said, according to the BBC.
The attack at the festival left over 260 dead, according to the New York Daily News, and an eyewitness report claimedthat women were raped by the terrorists alongside the dead bodies of their friends. Louk had reportedly called her mother before she was taken by Hamas, telling her that she was trying to get to her car to escape from the terrorists, the New York Post reported.
The Israeli government has said that over 200 hostages, including multiple Americans, are still being held in the Gaza Strip. Hamas released two American hostages, a mother and a daughter, on Oct. 20, but Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that they were still working to get an additional 10 Americans released.
“We know that some of them are being held hostage by Hamas, along with an estimated 200 other hostages held in Gaza,” Blinken said. “Every single one of them should be released.”
Israel is currently expanding its operations in Gaza.
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