Shani Louk, 23, Declared Dead After Being Kidnapped By Hamas Militants At Music Festival

Shani Louk, a 23-year-old German-Israeli citizen believed to have been kidnapped by Hamas militants while attending a music festival on October 2, has been declared dead.

“We are devastated to share that the body of the 23-year-old German-Israeli Shani (Louk) was found and identified,” the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.

Shortly after she was abducted, Hamas released a video of a naked woman lying face down in a pickup truck in Gaza. Louk’s mother said she believed it was her daughter in the video, pointing to her dreadlocks and tattoos as proof.

Louk’s aunt, Ruthi Louk, said on Israeli radio that a fragment from her niece’s skull had been gathered by a forensic relief organization.

“It is assumed she was dragged onto that pickup truck after she was already dead,” said Ruthi, adding that the family believed that Louk had been shot in the head.

“Maybe there can be comfort by the thought that she died fast and the abuse to her body was perhaps done when she was already gone,” she continued.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke out about the murder of Louk.

“The news of Shani Louk’s death is terrible,” he wrote on X. “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.”