German-Israeli hostage is dead, family confirms

The family of Israeli-German 22-year-old Shani Louk — who was seen in footage being forcefully kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on the back of a truck during the horrific massacre of Oct. 7 — announced Monday that she was dead.

It was not clear whether her body was found and where. Her sister Adi Louk simply wrote on Instagram: “We regretfully announce the death of my sister, Shani Nicole Louk, may her memory be a blessing.”

Hamas crossed into Israel in the early hours of Oct. 7 and murdered 1,400 people, while taking more than 200 people into Gaza. Louk was at the musical festival near Kibbutz Re’im where terrorists murdered hundreds of civilians. Initially, her family held hope that she was still alive because it was unclear if she was dead in the footage, with her mother even suggesting that she might be in a Gaza hospital.

Ruth, Shani’s cousin, said: “We received an official notice yesterday from the Israeli Defense Forces and ZAKA [a Haredi organization that helps authorities in forensics] with a written letter stating that there was DNA-related evidence confirming that she was not alive. They consulted with two other experts who also confirmed this, as well as with a rabbi.”