The happy face and long dreadlocked hair emerge from the Instagram photo in an alternative festival atmosphere in the countryside, among young people ignorant of the violent attack that was approaching. Shani Louk, a 22-year-old German resident of Israel who was attending a music festival for peace is the woman whose half-naked body, mouth-watering, Hamas militiamen drove around in a pickup truck celebrating their assault on the country.
The video of the horror, which circulated until it went viral in much of the world, reached his relatives, who yesterday Sunday identified Shani, a tattoo artist, by his tattoos and his dreadlocks. The death has not been confirmed, and yesterday the family held on to the possibility that she was still alive after the torture, although unconscious. However, the unnatural position of the legs in the van gives little room for hope.
The mother, Ricarda Louk, posted a touching video pleading for help: “This morning [Saturday] my daughter, Shani Nicole Louk, a German citizen, was kidnapped with a group of tourists in southern Israel by Palestinians of Hamas They sent us a video in which our unconscious daughter could clearly be seen in a vehicle with Palestinians and them as they drove through the Gaza Strip.” The mother addressed the authorities: “I am asking them to send us any help or any news. Thank you so much”. And she was showing a photo of her daughter, who also has Israeli nationality, on her mobile phone.
According to Der Spiegel, Shani Louk has never lived in Germany, but he was visiting his maternal grandparents in Ravensburg (Baden-Württemberg). The mother was Catholic, converted to Judaism and lives in Israel with her Israeli husband. The family lives 80 kilometers from Gaza.
Hamas claims the body in the video is that of an Israeli soldier, but Tomasina Weintraub-Louk, Shani’s cousin, told the British newspaper The Telegraph that it is definitely her cousin, whom she recognizes by the tattoos and dreadlocks
The scene is brutal. Several armed Hamas men shout from the open back of the pickup truck where a half-naked female body lies sprawled, while a crowd on foot cheers them on. One of the militiamen is sitting with his leg on the young woman’s waist, while another is holding her hair.
At the moment, the German Foreign Ministry said yesterday that “the German embassy in Tel-Aviv maintains close contact with the Israeli authorities to clarify” the situation of German citizens.
Shani had gone to the festival with her Mexican boyfriend, Orion Chirris. Family and friends of Chirris also asked for help on social media, as they had not been able to contact him since the attack began. Shani, Orion and other young people – many of whom are still missing – were at the Nova Festival outdoor festival, near a kibbutz in a rural area near the border between Israel and Gaza. The New Festival, known as the festival of peace, was intended to be the culmination of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Hundreds of young people watched the dawn break on Saturday when they were surprised by the Hamas attack, assaulted, kidnapped and taken to Gaza. Several dozen managed to hide in bushes and were saved. The others remain kidnapped or perhaps dead.
