German-Israeli woman, paraded naked by Hamas, found dead

Tribune Web Desk

Chandigarh, October 31

Shani Louk -- the German-Israeli woman paraded naked by Hamas earlier this October -- was found dead.  

"It is with great sadness that we announce the death of my sister," her sister Adi Louk said on social media.

The 23-year-old had been paraded naked in a truck after being captured.

It was because of her distinctive tattoos and dyed hair that her mother Ricarda Louk first became concerned about her daughter after seeing her in videos that were becoming viral on the internet.

The videos, which went viral immediately, featured a face-down, half-naked woman lying seemingly unconscious in the back of a pick-up truck in Gaza filled with armed men, according to The Times of Israel.

Although it was apparent at the time that Louk had passed away, the family remained optimistic and held hope.

According to The Times of Israel, the family of Shani Louk, received a letter from the Israeli ZAKA rescue service on Sunday night saying a bone from the base of her skull, without which a person cannot survive, had been recovered. They added that it had been genetically tested and determined to have belonged to her.

Sharing the news of her death on X, Israel said, "Shani who was kidnapped from a music festival and tortured and paraded around Gaza by Hamas terrorists, experienced unfathomable horrors. Our hearts are broken."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday said the death of German-Israeli woman Shani Louk showed what he called the barbarism of Hamas and the need to hold the Palestinian militant group to account.

The Israeli government had earlier on Monday confirmed the death of Louk, who was taken by Hamas at a music festival on October 7 during a deadly assault that killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians. Shani Louk was attending the Supernova fest and clips on social media had showed her dancing hours before the attack.

"For me, this news is terrible," Scholz said during an official visit to Africa. "This shows all the barbarism that lies behind Hamas."

The news of Shani Louk's death is terrible. Like many others, she was brutally murdered. This shows the full barbarity behind the Hamas attack - who must be held accountable. This is terror, and Israel has the right to defend itself.

— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) October 30, 2023

With Reuters

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