German tourist who was kidnapped by Hamas found dead three weeks after festival
Topics: News, World News, Germany, Israel
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: Instagram / shanukkk/ FAMILY OF SHANI LOUK
Topics: News, World News, Germany, Israel
Shani Louk's mother has shared the sad news that her daughter has died.
The 22-year-old German tourist visited Israel and was attending a music festival in the country when Hamas raided the event and took people hostage.
The incident was described as 'bloodbath' where it was reported that over 200 people had been killed.
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In footage shared online after the massacre, Shani's mother, Ricarda, spotted her in it, sparking her to plead for help in locating her missing daughter.
The video shows the motionless body of a young woman being paraded through the streets in the back of a pickup truck, surrounded by militants.
"We were sent a video in which I could clearly see our daughter unconscious in the car with the Palestinians and them driving around the Gaza Strip," Ricarda said in a video shared to social media while holding up a photo of Shani.
"I ask you to send us any help or news. Thank you very much."
Despite the harrowing video, Ricarda had remained hopeful that her daughter was still alive.
"The video looks very bad but I still have hope. I hope she's still alive somewhere," she told CNN at the time.
"We don't have anything else to hope for. We're trying to believe."
Her cousin, Tom Weintraub Louk, also told the Washington Post: "We have some kind of hope. Hamas is responsible for her and the others."
At one point it was reported that Shani was being treated at a hospital in Gaza with a 'serious head injury'.
Now, after weeks of torment, it's been confirmed that Shani has sadly died.
"Unfortunately, we received news yesterday that my daughter is no longer alive," Ricarda told German media outlet RTL.
It's believed the family received a letter with the devastating news after Shani's remains had been recovered and identified.
Israel's foreign ministry has also provided official confirmation of her untimely death.
"We are devastated to share that the body of 23-year-old German-Israeli Shani Louk was found and identified," the authority said.
"Shani who was kidnapped from a music festival and tortured and paraded around Gaza by Hamas terrorists, experienced unfathomable horrors.
"Our thoughts and prayer are with Shani's friends and family during this unimaginable nightmare. May her memory be a blessing."
As it stands, the cause of Shani's death remains unclear.
Her body is yet to be returned from Gaza, The Times of Israel reports.