The family of Shani Louk knew for certain their daughter had died in Gaza when Israeli police handed them an envelope containing the charred jewellery taken from her remains, it has been revealed.
The brutal abduction of the 22-year-old German-Israeli tattoo artist from the Nova music festival by Hamas terrorists on October 7 became one of the enduring symbols of the atrocities.
Images of her half-naked body being paraded through the streets of Gaza on the back of a pickup truck were ubiquitous in the weeks following Hamas’ attacks on Israel, but her father Nissim Louk held out hope she had survived the ordeal.
For months Nissim and the family tried to get information out of Gaza, leveraging all their contacts to find a man in the Palestinian enclave to search for Shani and deliver details of her whereabouts and condition.
But their hopes were dashed when IDF soldiers discovered human remains that they believed were those of Shani in a nighttime raid on a location in Gaza two weeks ago.
Nissim said that a few days later, he knew Shani had been lost for sure when an Israeli police officer delivered the envelope containing his daughter’s necklace, earrings, nose and lip piercings, along with documents confirming her death.
The brutal abduction of Shani Louk, a 22-year-old German-Israeli tattoo artist, from the Nova music festival by Hamas terrorists on October 7 became one of the enduring symbols of the atrocities
Nissim and Ricarda Louk, the parents of Shani Louk, 22
Nissim Louk (L) and Ricarda Louk attend the funeral service for their daughter Shani Louk during her funeral service on May 19, 2024 in Srigim-Li On, Israel
Palestinian militants drive back to the Gaza Strip with the body of Shani Louk, a German-Israeli dual citizen, on October 7
Shocking footage shared on social media showed Palestinian fighters parading Shani’s naked body on the back of a pick-up truck
Nissim and Ricarda Louk, the parents of Shani Louk, 22, who was taken hostage by Hamas after being seized from the Nova festival, following a deadly infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip into Israel, and who was later confirmed dead by Israel’s government, are photographed in their home in Srigim-Li On, Israel
Nissim told The Telegraph how he immediately recognised Shani’s dreadlocks and tattoos from the images of her on the back of a Hamas pickup truck.
‘We didn’t see any blood on that white truck so we thought, maybe she’s OK,’ he said.
But with Hamas providing no confirmation of his daughter’s condition, Nissim turned to desperate measures.
Contacting relatives in Germany who were able to connect with Palestinian acquaintances, Nissim managed to get in touch with an elderly Gazan who agreed to work for the family and help dig for information on Shani’s whereabouts.
The man provided scant details, but claimed to have seen WhatsApp messages between Gazan medics allegedly describing their care for a ‘German girl’ – a description Nissim believed was likely in reference to his daughter.
Earlier this month, Nissim said the family had ‘hoped, planned, prayed’ for Shani’s safety and were ‘looking for clues to prove she was alive.’
But their prayers went unanswered.
Nissim recounted how IDF officers came to the house and explained how troops conducting a raid in Gaza had come across human remains.
The officer said skull fragments retrieved at the scene appeared to match Shani’s DNA, suggesting she had suffered a fatal injury.
Inside, along with some paperwork, lay a blackened chain necklace, a couple of gold earrings and studs from Shani’s nose and lips.
Shani’s body was in the forest near their home on May 19 in a touching ceremony attended by dozens of mourners.
Nissim Louk reacts during a funeral service for his daughter Shani Louk on May 19, 2024 in Srigim-Li On, Israel
A drone view shows mourners during the funeral of German-Israeli Shani Louk, who was killed in the October 7 attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Srigim, Israel, May 19, 2024
Atim Louk (L) was among the pall bearers carrying the casket of his sister Shani Louk on May 19, 2024 in Srigim-Li On, Israel
Shani Louk is pictured with Oryon Hernandez Radoux, who was also abducted and later found dead in Gaza
Shani Louk and Oryon Hernandez Radoux
All three attended the Supernova festival near kibbutz Re’im on October 7, one of the first sites to be attacked by Hamas on its deadly incursion into Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deaths of the three revellers ‘heartbreaking,’ adding: ‘We will return all of our hostages, both the living and the dead.’
Late last week, IDF troops working with members of Israel’s Shin Bet security service launched a similar raid and retrieved the remains of three more hostages.
Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum and Oryon Hernandez-Radoux were abducted from the Supernova music festival and the Mefalsim intersection just one mile away from the Gaza border on October 7, and were subsequently murdered by Hamas, Israeli officials said.
Hernandez-Radoux, 30, was Shani’s boyfriend. Both had shared pictures together on social media in the days and weeks prior to their abduction.
Shani was seen dancing at the Nova Festival near kibbutz Re’im hours before Hamas gunmen flooded across the border on October 7, 2023.
Earlier this month, Nissim spoke out in defence of the award given to an AP photographer who captured the chilling moment the half-naked body of his 22-year-old daughter was paraded across Gaza by Hamas.
His remarks come after friends said they were shocked that the photograph had won the prestigious award and were in tears.
Shani was one of the roughly 1,200 people killed on October 7 by Hamas
Shani with her mother Ricarda (pictured, left)
Shani Louk and Oryon Hernandez Radoux
The decision to award AP photographer Ali Mahmud the oldest photojournalism gong by Reynolds Journalism Institute after he placed first in ‘Team Picture Story of the Year,’ sparked outrage.
The photo depicts five armed Hamas members in a pickup truck, one of whom is resting his feet on Louk’s limp body.
Further footage shows the terrorists parading her body in Gaza amidst cheering crowds with one spitting on her remains.
But Nissim said: ‘It’s good that the photo won the prize’.
‘This is one of the most important photos in the last 50 years,’ he told Ynet.
He expressed a firm belief that his daughter’s photograph will leave a mark on human history, considering it a symbol of the current era and hopefully serving as documentation for generations to come.
‘These are some of the photos that shape human memory, the Jew raising his hands, the paratroopers at the Western Wall, photos that symbolise an era,’ he continued.
‘This documentation of Shani, and of Noa Argamani on the motorcycle, they symbolise this era. I think it’s a good thing to use it to inform the future.’
‘If I start crying, what will come of it? This is history. In 100 years they will look and know what happened here. I travel the world and everyone knows who Shani is,’ he told Ynet.
But Shani’s mother Ricarda said she was horrified by the picture, saying it forced her and her family to relive the trauma of losing their loved one.
