Family: Hamas Killed Her, Then Stole Her Body

A 23-year-old woman believed to have been kidnapped by Hamas while attending an Israeli music festival on Oct. 7 likely died that same day before ever arriving in Gaza, her family said Monday. Shortly after the attack, Hamas shared video showing a mostly naked woman lying face down in the back of a pickup truck in Gaza. The mother of German-Israeli citizen Shani Louk said she believed the woman was her daughter based in part on visible tattoos. She remained hopeful that her daughter might be released. Her hope has now faded, however, as family members say a piece of Louk's skull has been found by workers at the site of the music festival.

The National Institute of Forensic Medicine determined the bone fragment came from the base of Louk's skull, Haaretz reported, per the New York Times. The petrous part of temporal bone reportedly indicated an injury that Louk could not have survived, per CNN. Louk's family was informed of the finding on Sunday evening, per the Times of Israel. In a Monday interview, Louk's aunt said the family now believes Louk was fatally shot in the head. "It is assumed she was dragged onto that pickup truck after she was already dead," the woman said on Israeli radio, per the New York Times.

Louk's father said it was a relief to know his daughter wasn't "lying in some tunnel under Gaza, where every minute we are firing at them," per the Times of Israel. "We know she didn't suffer, we also know a minute before the murderers came she was dancing, she was happy, she prayed, she went wild, with all her friends around her, and she had fun." However, in confirming Louk's death, Israel's foreign ministry said she'd "experienced unfathomable horrors," per the Guardian. She was "tortured and paraded around Gaza by Hamas terrorists," the ministry said. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz added Louk's death "shows the full barbarity behind the Hamas attack—who must be held accountable." (More Hamas stories.)