A statement from the Israeli army brings sad certainty to Shani Louk's family: the 22-year-old hostage is dead. Ground operations are being expanded in the Gaza Strip.
Shani Louk, the German-Israeli woman abducted by Hamas and taken to the Gaza Strip, is dead. Her mother, Ricarda Louk, learned of her death from the Israeli army on Monday night. A skull fragment belonging to the 22-year-old was discovered and identified through DNA testing using submitted comparison material. The German Foreign Office initially confirmed only the death of a German citizen.
The mother responded by saying that at least her daughter hadn't suffered. Shani had attended the Supernova music festival where Hamas terrorists carried out a massacre on October 7. After the attack, a video circulated online showing the young woman being driven away half-naked in a pickup truck.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry and the embassy in Berlin expressed their condolences on platform X: “Shani, who was kidnapped from a music festival, tortured by Hamas terrorists, and put on display in the Gaza Strip, experienced unimaginable horrors. Our hearts are broken.”
Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog told the German newspaper "Bild" regarding the discovery of the skull: "This means that these barbaric, sadistic animals simply chopped off her head when they attacked, tortured, and killed Israelis. It is a great tragedy, and I express my deepest condolences to her family."
Hamas leader Sinwar: Exchange hostages for all prisoners
Meanwhile, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip spoke for the first time since the terrorist attack that killed more than 1,300 people. On Saturday evening, according to the Israeli newspaper "Yediot Aharonot," he expressed his willingness to free all Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of "all our prisoners held in your prisons." Palestinian Islamic Jihad is holding some of the more than 230 hostages.
The Israeli army has intensified its ground operations in the northern Gaza Strip. According to its own statements, it killed dozens of Hamas terrorists overnight who had barricaded themselves in houses and attempted to attack soldiers. Around 20 were killed in a drone strike. Hamas spoke of "heavy fighting" with the "invading occupation force.".
Military spokesman Daniel Hagari announced: “We are conducting an expanded ground operation in the Gaza Strip.” He added: “Troops are moving towards the terrorists. The terrorists are barricading themselves at launch sites, and we are attacking them from the air.”
Further rocket attacks on Israel
The terrorist group continued its rocket attacks on Israeli cities. A residential building was hit in Rishon LeZion, near Tel Aviv. There were no injuries. Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and other locations on Monday.
A soldier was killed in an accident in northern Israel when his tank overturned. Three other soldiers were injured. (Israelnetz)
