I don’t blame her mother for believing that she was still alive, but it’s now confirmed that Shani Louk is dead. Madeline covered this yesterday. The German-Israeli woman was at a music festival in Southern Israel when Hamas terrorists invaded, some descending by paraglider into the event. They killed 260 people in a campaign of carnage and mayhem that shocked Israel (via Tablet):
It will turn your stomach, but don't turn away.
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) October 8, 2023
These are the accounts of what happened to the young Israelis attacked by Hamas at a music festival.
"Women have been raped at the area of the rave next to their friends bodies, dead bodies. Several of these rape victims appear…
The attack on the festival outside of Re’im began around 7 a.m. The party was at its peak by then—which meant that by then most people were inebriated. At first, partygoers heard a loud explosion, which they took to be another sporadic rocket attack on southern Israel. But then the explosions grew louder and constant, and kept going for about five minutes. The music stopped, and the police protecting the 4,000 or 5,000 ravers began pushing everyone to leave.
By then, the terrorists were approaching in pickup trucks bearing Hamas military markings.
Shooting began. Many were executed on the spot. 260 bodies have been found, so far, on the site of the rave.
Many of the young men and women started running in the flat expanse of the western Negev desert. Faced with the spectacle of kids fleeing for their lives on a largely flat surface, the terrorists began rounding up the rest of their victims.
Others were captured and bound and kidnapped. “I saw videos with a male getting held by a group of Arab kids. Like, they’re like 16, 17,” one survivor recalled. “They’re kids, but they’re young men already, and they’re holding this guy, and he looks as his girlfriend is being mounted on a bike and driven away from him. God knows what she’s going to experience … Women have been raped at the area of the rave next to their friends bodies, dead bodies.”
Several of these rape victims appear to have been later executed. Others were taken to Gaza. In photographs released online, you can see several paraded through the city’s streets, blood gushing from between their legs.
One survivor who’d returned to the scene later in the day to look for his friends spoke, in a breaking voice, of what he’d seen. Of the bodies, mainly of young women, lying cold and mutilated. Of scantily clad corpses, many of whom appeared to have been shot at point-blank. Of cars, perforated by bullets or blown up by grenades.
Some of the lucky ones ran to a nearby wadi, seeking shelter amid the shrubbery. “I felt like they were shooting right above our heads,” one survivor recalled.
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Louk was one of those women paraded around. She was seen unconscious, her body mangled in the back of the pickup truck on October 7. The video footage also shows that she suffered a severe head wound. It’s been determined she was likely killed by a gunshot to the head. Her family confirmed her identity through her hair and body tattoos.
Before the discovery of her remains, the German government reportedly had sources in Gaza claiming that she was alive, but these were Hamas sources, which are beyond unreliable. The story went into limbo as regional actors geared up for a lengthy confrontation, with Hezbollah in Lebanon vowing all-out war if Israel invaded. The US was also racing to get anti-ballistic missile systems into the region, along with at least two carrier strike groups.
While clearing out Hamas' positions, Israeli forces, which invaded Gaza on October 28, discovered her remains. The terrorists likely beheaded her. Louk’s mother, Ricardia, only reacted to the news by saying at least her daughter didn’t suffer (via NY Post):
Israel Defense Forces while conducting Operations in the Northern Gaza Strip have Discovered the Skull of 23-Year-Old Shani Louk, with IDF Officials stating they now believe she was Beheaded with her Body being Paraded through the Streets of Gaza; Shani’s Family had recently… pic.twitter.com/zjI9QYYrF4
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 30, 2023
The Skull Fragment following its Discovery by Israeli Forces was turned over to ZAKA Rescue Services who conducted DNA Testing which matched the Fragment to the Base of Shani’s Skull which was determined to be caused by a Fatal Gunshot Wound to the Head; Shani’s Family in Germany…
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 30, 2023
Her mother, Ricarda, at first thought her daughter survived the attack and was unconscious while being carted through the Gaza Strip.
Now, she says she believes Shani was killed the same day Hamas launched its surprise attack, possibly by being shot in the head.
“At least she didn’t suffer,” Ricarda Louk told German broadcaster RTL.
She said her daughter’s body has yet to be found, but a splinter of a skull bone was located and submitted for a DNA test that confirmed her death.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog on Monday confirmed that the DNA found on the skull fragment matched Louk.
“This means that these barbaric, sadistic animals simply chopped off her head as they attacked, tortured and killed Israelis,” Herzog told Germany’s Bild newspaper, according to a translation by i24 News.
“It is a great tragedy and I extend my deepest condolences to her family.”
IDF Ground Operations in Gaza continued and expanded overnight:
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 30, 2023
🔻An IAF aircraft—guided by ground forces—struck a Hamas post and the 20+ terrorist operatives in it.
🔻Soldiers spotted armed terrorists and an anti-tank missile launching post near the Al-Azhar University and…
Meanwhile, IDF forces continue to execute their plan against Hamas on the ground, where they seek to uproot the organization’s grip on the Gaza Strip, which they’ve held since 2007. They’re also conducting airstrikes against terrorists in Syria and southern Lebanon.
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