Shani Louk’s father says family is ‘relieved’ her body has been recovered: ‘At least we have some closure’
Shani Louk’s father called the discovery of her body a “relief” as he invited Israelis to attend her funeral on Sunday.
The Israeli army announced Friday that they have recovered the 22-year-old’s body, as well as the remains of Itzhak Gelerenter, 53, and Amit Buskila, 28.
The German-Israeli was one of the 364 people killed at the SuperNova Festival, which she attended with her boyfriend.
She became a symbol of the brutal Hamas attack after the world saw the photo of armed men carrying her half-naked corpse back to Gaza on the back of a pickup truck.
The IDF said Buskila and Gelerenter were also killed at the festival on October 7 and their bodies were taken to Gaza.
Nissim Louk said: “This morning we were told that soldiers from a commando team were in the area and found bodies and that the condition of the body was very good.
Nissim Louk, Shani Louk’s father, called the discovery of her body a “relief” as he invited Israelis to attend her funeral on Sunday.
Nissim and Ricarda Louk, the parents of Shani Louk, 22, who was taken hostage by Hamas after being seized at the Nova festival
‘It was in a relatively deep place in a deep tunnel and very cold, so the physical condition is really good.
The IDF said on X on Friday: “Our troops recovered their bodies overnight and brought them back home to Israel.
“We will continue to operate to bring all our hostages home. May their memories be a blessing.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also responded to the discovery of the bodies, saying: “We will return all our hostages, both the living and the dead.”
The military said the bodies were found overnight, without elaborating, and gave no immediate details on their whereabouts. Israel is operating in the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, where it says it has intelligence that hostages are being held.
Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250 others in the Oct. 7 attack. About half of these hostages have since been released, most in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a weeklong ceasefire in November.
Israel says about 100 hostages are still trapped in Gaza, along with the bodies of about 30 others. Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians since the attack, according to Gaza health officials.
Netanyahu has vowed to eliminate Hamas and return all hostages, but has made little progress. He is under pressure to resign, and the US has threatened to scale back its support for the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Israelis are divided into two main camps: those who want the government to end the war and free the hostages, and others who think the hostages are an unfortunate price to pay for eradicating Hamas.
Negotiations between Qatar, the United States and Egypt have yielded little.