Shani Louk's family confirms the death of the young woman in the attacks carried out on October 7 by Hamas

The family of the young German-Israeli Shani Louk have confirmed that the 22-year-old woman has died, after weeks of uncertainty about her condition following images in which she could be seen being transported unconscious in a vehicle. after the attacks launched on October 7 by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) against Israel, which left nearly 1,400 dead.

"Unfortunately, we received the news yesterday that my daughter is no longer alive," Louk's mother, Ricarda Louk, told German radio station RTL. The German authorities have not commented at the moment, although she has indicated that the information was communicated to her by the Israeli Army.

Thus, the woman has added that her daughter's body has not yet been found, although she has stated that a splinter of a skull bone was found and a DNA sample had been taken from it, as the agency has collected. German news DPA. The mother assumes that her daughter has been dead since October 7 as a result of a possible gunshot to the head during the attack.

The family believes Shani was murdered by the Palestinian Islamist group at a music festival in Israel's Negev desert. According to the report, photos and videos circulating on the Internet showed the young woman's body in a van, although the family was hopeful that she was seriously injured and that she had been forcibly transported to the Gaza Strip.

In this sense, Ricarda Louk has described the confirmation of her daughter's death as "terrible", although she has valued being certain about what happened as positive. "At least she didn't suffer," Louk stressed, according to DPA.

Shortly after, the Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed Louk's death. "We are devastated to share that the death of German-Israeli Shani Louk has been confirmed," she said in a message on her account on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Shani, who was kidnapped during a music festival, tortured and paraded in Gaza by Hamas terrorists, suffered immeasurable horrors. Our hearts are broken. May her memory be a blessing," he concluded.

The spokesman for the Israeli Army, Daniel Hagari, indicated this Monday that the authorities have so far confirmed that 239 people are being held in the Strip after the attacks by Hamas, which recently indicated that around 50 of the hostages had died. due to the intense bombing by Israeli forces against the enclave.

The authorities of the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas, have reported the deaths of more than 8,000 Palestinians in bombings against the enclave. Added to this figure are more than one hundred Palestinians killed in operations by Israeli security forces and attacks by settlers in the West Bank, as indicated by the Palestinian Authority.

For its part, the German Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation against Hamas for the alleged murder, involuntary manslaughter and kidnapping of its citizens in the context of its attacks, a measure adopted following the requests of the relatives of the Germans affected by them. Among the victims is also Carolin Bohl, 22, killed during the attack on the Nir Oz kibbutz, near the border with Gaza.