Shani Louk, the Israeli-German tattoo artist allegedly taken hostage by Hamas militants on October 7, has died, her family confirmed on Monday. Louk's body was found on Monday, with Louk's sister, Adi, confirming Shani's death on Instagram. This comes days after her mother claimed that Louk was alive and was fighting for her life in a Gaza hospital.
Footage surfaced on the day of the attack showing Louk's body, reportedly lying bruised and naked in the back of a truck after being kidnapped and taken into Gaza. It remained unclear in the video if she was alive. However, a few days following the incident, Louk's mother, Ricarda, said that her daughter was alive and in captivity in a Gaza hospital.
Finally Confirmed Dead
Louk's mother told German RTL/ntv on Sunday that her daughter was confirmed to no longer be alive. A relative of Louk also said that the family was officially informed by the IDF and ZAKA that a bone from the base of Louk's skull, matching her DNA, was found.
Medical experts concluded that a person couldn't survive without this specific bone and therefore concluded that Louk couldn't possibly still be alive.
"It is with great sadness that we announce the death of my sister", her sibling Adi Louk said in a post on social media.
Louk's cousin, Ruth, said: "We received an official notice yesterday from the IDF and the ZAKA [a Haredi organization that helps authorities in forensics] with a written letter stating that there is genetic medical information confirming that she was not alive. They consulted with two other experts who also confirmed this, as well as with a rabbi."
It's still unclear whether or not the prior rumors that Louk was being held alive in Gaza were true.
Louk was at the Supernova music festival in Reim on October 7 when Hamas terrorists attacked the venue. Over 260 civilians were killed in the attack.
It's also believed that Orión Hernández Radoux, a Mexican national and Louk's boyfriend, was kidnapped during the attack by Hamas terrorists. After the attack, texts were sent from his phone in Arabic.
Tragic End to Life
The widely circulated video on the day of the attacked showed Hamas terrorists gathered around Louk's body, while supporters of the group cheered, ran alongside, and spit on her. The post has so far received more than 5 million views.
Hamas had initially claimed that the body belonged to a female Israeli soldier.
However, late that night Louk's cousin, Tomasina Weintraub-Louk, confirmed to MailOnline that it was indeed Louk. The family identified her through her distinctive leg tattoos and dreadlocked hair.
Several users of X expressed their shock after watching the gory video footage. "These are the people world leaders want Israel to make peace with," one user wrote on X.
"These are the people [President Joe Biden] and the [United Nations] say are good people who deserve every consideration. Pray for Israel."
"Disgusting. No other words," wrote another user.
A day later, a heartbreaking final video of Louk emerged on social that showed her dancing and singing moments before she was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from the festival.
The video shows Louk enjoying with others at the music festival. She is seen in black attire and dancing to peppy music with her friends, who have no clue that many would be dead after a few minutes.
According to claims on social media, this is the last video of Louk before Hamas paragliders descended on the venue and started killing the revelers.
