Following the massive terror and on-ground assault on Israel, the streets of Sderot and several border towns of the Jewish-majority nation witnessed blood-curdling scenes on 7th October. Among one such disturbing visual was the naked and battered dead body of an unidentified woman who was being paraded by the Hamas terrorists in a pickup truck.
The terrorists could be heard shouting the Islamic slogan ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ in these gruesome videos of the incident. In some videos that surfaced on social media, a murderous crowd of Hamas terrorists could be seen surrounding the vehicle, chanting slogans and spitting on the woman’s body.
As per the Australian media, Hamas initially claimed that the lifeless body was of a female Israeli soldier. However, it has now been ascertained that the woman being paraded in that video was a German tourist named Shani Louk. Apparently, the tattoo on one of the legs of the woman in that video helped in her identification.
Adi Louk confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that the woman seen in the video was her sister, Shani Louk, a German citizen, and a tattoo artist, reported the New York Post.
As per media reports, her cousin Tom Weintraub Louk stated that her family tried calling Shani when they discovered that Hamas had crossed over from the Gaza Strip. However, at that point, they didn’t yet see the video of her.
She added, “We knew she was in the party. She didn’t answer.” The Washington Post further reported her saying that Shani’s legs were unnaturally laid out in the back of the truck. Her parents watched the video to confirm it was their daughter.
Louk said, “We recognized her by the tattoos, and she has long dreadlocks.” However, her whereabouts and whether she is dead or alive are yet to be confirmed by official channels, the family still has not given up hope.
Louk told the Washington Post, “We have some kind of hope. Hamas is responsible for her and the others.”
According to Shani’s first cousin, Shani Louk reportedly went missing after Hamas terrorists took control of an open-air festival on Saturday morning.
Australian media quoted her cousin saying, “It is definitely Shani. She was at a music festival for peace. This is a nightmare for our family.” As per reports, Shani had attended the music festival which was the first site of attack by Hamas terrorists. On Saturday morning Hamas attacked a dance party near Kibbutz Urim and other Israeli communities, unconfirmed videos of such music festivals have surfaced online in which Hamas terrorists can be seen in backdrop paragliding.
In a video posted by Visegrad 24 on X, Shani Louk’s mother too confirmed her daughter’s identity and appealed to people for more information regarding her whereabouts.
According to CNN citing German news outlet Bild, in a video message, Shani’s mother Ricarda said, “This morning my daughter, Shani Nicole Louk, a German citizen, was kidnapped with a group of tourists in southern Israel by Palestinian Hamas.”
She added, “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. I ask you to send us any help or any news. Thank you very much.”
According to a social media account that belongs to her, Shani Louk is a tattoo artist and hair stylist. The tattoo seen on the legs of the dead body matches with the tattoos seen on her legs in the photos posted by her on Instagram.
Apart from the German tourist Shani Louk, Hamas has also captured other foreigners including 17 Nepali citizens. Seven of them have reportedly suffered injuries in these terror attacks.
So far, around 300 people have been killed in Israel in the Hamas attack, while the number of injured rose to over 1,800. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Health Ministry said 232 people were killed and 1,790 were injured in Gaza in the retaliatory action by Israeli forces. Israel has launched a massive military action titled ‘Operation Swords of Iron’ against Hamas in Gaza Strip, in response to the surprise rocker and ground attack by Hamas titled ‘Al-Aqsa flood’.