Abduction of Shani Louk depicting images of the israeli-german woman who was captured by Hamas during the October 2023 israel-gaza conflict.

Abduction of Shani Louk

Part of a series on 2023 Hamas vs. Israel Conflict. [View Related Entries]

Updated Oct 30, 2023 at 11:23AM EDT by Don.

Added Oct 11, 2023 at 09:59AM EDT by sakshi.

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Overview

The Abduction of Shani Louk refers to an Israeli-German woman who was captured and held captive by Hamas after she attended the Supernova Music Festival near the Gaza border in early October 2023. Louk was initially presumed to be dead after footage of her purported body was seen in the back of a pickup truck steered by Hamas militants. Several days after initial media coverage asserted that Louk was captured, tortured and killed by Hamas, Louk's mother claimed that her daughter was alive and being treated at a hospital in Gaza for a critical head injury, prompting further discourse surrounding her story as it went viral online.

In late October 2023, Israel President Isaac Herzog announced that part of a skull had been found that matched Louk's DNA, indicating that she had been killed.[11]

Background

On October 7th, 2023, Hamas (the "Islamic Resistance Movement") launched an incursion into Israel, with troops encountering and attacking concertgoers at the Supernova Music Festival, which was taking place near the Gaza border outside of Re’im. Hamas militants reportedly took several festivalgoers captive, including an Israeli-German woman named Shani Louk.[1]


Louk was identified as a captive from video footage that purportedly showed her body in the back of a pickup truck manned by Hamas militants, with Louk's mother reportedly recognizing her from her distinctive tattoos and dreadlocks.[2]

Developments

On October 11th, 2023, Shani Louk's mother, Ricarda Louk, spoke with the German newspaper BILD and stated that Louk was alive and being treated for serious head injuries at the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip in the city of Beit Lahia, refuting earlier reports that she was killed.[3] According to Shani Louk's uncle Wilfried Gehr, their source for news about her status was a friend within the Gaza border.[4]

Louk's mother went on to plead with the German government for the safe return of her daughter, saying, "We now have further information that Shani is alive, but has a severe head injury and is in critical condition. Every minute is critical."[5]



Online Reactions

In the days following the attack, Shani Louk's story was widely covered in the media around the world and subsequently discussed online. For example, on October 8th, 2023, conservative influencer and X user Oli London made a series of posts[6] about Shani Louk's abduction, then considered to be a killing, gathering over 30,000 likes in three days (seen below).


Oli London @OliLondonTV This is the innocent woman ruthlessly killed and tortured by Hamas militants today. Her body was paraded in the back of a pickup truck in her underwear while men spat on her. Her name was Shani Louk and she was a German citizen attending a music festival to promote peace near the Gaza border. 6:54 PM Oct 7, 2023 8M Views :

Also on October 8th, X user and former journalist Irena Akbar[7] made a post claiming that Shani Louk was not stripped naked or paraded, but rather kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas. The post received criticism from many internet users who took Akbar to be defending Hamas's actions (seen below).


On October 11th, Ben Shapiro[10] quoted a video by X user @itsmorganariel that asserted, "I watched conservatives turn into blood thirsty demons from these videos being propagated." Shapiro added, "One thing I noticed you didn't include in this video is the actual video of Shani Louk's stripped and broken body. Fascinating."


X user and vocal anti-zionist and pro-Palestine advocate @AstuteCFO made a series of posts[8][9] on October 11th, 2023, reacting to news that Louk may be alive, gathering over 1,000 likes on each post (shown below).


Freddy @AstuteCFO How dare you make fun of Shani Louk's desperate situation. If you had any humanity at all you'd be claiming she was dead and posting pictures of her unconscious body on the internet as propaganda 3:17 AM - Oct 11, 2023 63.6K Views Freddy @AstuteCFO Israelis and journalists finding out Shani Louk is still alive (Photo: Manahem Kahana, AFP/Getty Images) 2:27 AM . Oct 11, 2023 67.7K Views 4645

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Top Comments

Geigh Science
Geigh Science

in reply to mandrac

It grinds my gears that people are still trying to paint themselves as moral after exploiting someone's captivity and potential death and/or sexual assault as absolutely shameless war propaganda to whip people into a frenzy to support atrocities against unrelated civilians.

+5
xTSGx
xTSGx

She's almost certainly dead. There's images and videos showing a large gunshot wound to the back of her head. It's doubtful she'd be alive even if she were in a modern medical facility and not an "open air prison" in the process of being besieged. The mom is, quite sadly, just desperately clinging to a false hope.

+4

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