German-Israeli woman Shani Louk abducted at music festival by Hamas terrorists confirmed dead

Shani Louk, 23, who was kidnapped from the Supernova festival and paraded unconscious on the back of a truck, was beheaded by Hamas terrorists, according to Israeli officials.

Shani Louk, a German national, is believed to have been killed by Palestinian militants during their large scale incursion into Israel. Picture: Instagram

Shani Louk, a 23-year-old German-Israeli woman abducted by Hamas terrorists when they stormed a music festival in the Israeli desert, is dead, Israel’s foreign ministry said Monday.

“Our hearts are broken,” the ministry wrote in a message on X, formerly Twitter, as it confirmed Louk’s death.

“Shani, who was kidnapped from a music festival and tortured and paraded around Gaza by Hamas terrorists, experienced unfathomable horrors,” it said.

“May her memory be a blessing.”

Louk had been missing since Hamas fighters stormed the Supernova rave near the Gaza border as they carried out the worst attack in Israel’s history.

Shani Louk, a German national, was killed by Hamas terrorists during their large scale incursion into Israel. Picture: Instagram

Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Germany’s Bild daily that her “skull was found,” with the 23-year-old victim’s family also saying her death was confirmed by DNA on parts of her skull.

“This means that these barbaric, sadistic animals simply chopped off her head as they attacked, tortured and killed Israelis,” Mr Herzog said.

“It is a great tragedy and I extend my deepest condolences to her family,’’ according to a translation by i24 News.

“What we saw on the Gaza-Israel border goes far beyond a pogrom. We saw a slaughterhouse.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the news of her death as “terrible”. “Like many others, she was brutally murdered,” he wrote on X.

“This shows the full barbarity behind the Hamas attack— who must be held accountable. This is terror and Israel has the right to defend itself,” he said.

About 270 festivalgoers were killed at the Supernova rave.

Shortly after the attack, images began circulating online of a young woman lying face down and nearly naked in the back of a pick-up truck in Gaza filled with armed men.

Louk’s family said they recognised Shani in the footage because of her dreadlocks and distinctive tattoos.

The family initially held out hope she had been badly injured and was receiving hospital treatment in Gaza.

Louk’s sister Adi spoke of her “great sorrow” as she shared the news of Shani’s death on Instagram.

Their mother, Ricarda Louk, told German media they had been informed of Shani’s death by the Israeli military.

Ricarda Louk, the mother of Shani Louk, 22, who was kidnapped by Hamas during the attack on October 7th, speaks to members of the media following a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on October 17, 2023 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Picture: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

German-born Ricarda, who moved to Israel three decades ago, told the RTL/NTV broadcasters her daughter had been identified through DNA analysis of a skull bone.

She said she now believed her daughter was killed on the day of the attack.

In the October 7 attacks, Hamas militants killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities. Another 239 people were taken hostage.