Hundreds of tearful mourners attend the funeral of Israeli hostage Shani Louk, 22, who was killed by Hamas – as her emotional father says: ‘I couldn’t protect you, forgive me’

Young Israeli hostage Shani Louk, who was kidnapped and murdered by Hamas, was finally buried last night as hundreds of mourners paid tribute.

Shani, who was only 22, was one of many kidnapped during the brutal October 7 attacks.

She tried to flee the horrors with her friends, but they were surrounded by the terror group. Her body was later paraded through the streets of Gaza.

In her final moments, she called her sister to tell her that “everything will be okay,” her father told those at her funeral.

Nissam spoke emotionally for his child during the meeting: ‘As a father, I was unable to protect you. Forgive me’.

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 dragging her half-naked body on the back of a pickup truck back to Gaza.

Hundreds of mourners attended Shani’s funeral last night as she was finally laid to rest

Mourners gather at the grave of German-Israeli Shani and lay flowers on the ground

Mourners lowered Shani’s coffin into the grave during her funeral in Srigim last night

Friends and family attended the funeral of the Israeli-German hostage last night

Shani’s family invited the public to her funeral, which took place last night

Photos from last night show huge, brightly colored flower arrangements surrounded by hundreds of sad mourners sobbing during the farewell service

Seven months after the tragedy, Shani was buried in the city of Srigim, with her family inviting the public to attend the funeral.

Shani’s mother, Ricarda, said it was a “small gift” that her daughter’s body was brought home and a “relief” after being without hope for so long. The Telegraph reported.

Paying tribute to her daughter, she described her as living “intensely with all her heart.”

Her brother Amit, who led the parade, said: “I will never stop missing you, sitting with you, talking to you, partying with you.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzoog sent a message to the family expressing his condolences for the girl who “just wanted to dance.”

Nissam said in an emotional speech: ‘Your death made you a symbol. You were the light to the darkness of that terror,” the newspaper reported.

After the hymns, Shani’s grieving friends sang an anti-war song she had written that read, “The day is over. It’s dark and I want to go home. I don’t want war, I want to go home.’

Photos from last night show huge, brightly colored flower arrangements surrounded by hundreds of sad mourners sobbing during the farewell service.

Family photos of the young woman showed a happy and carefree spirit at the start of her adult life and friends of her family have said that is how she should be remembered.

The tattoo artist became a symbol of the brutal October 7 attacks after a photo (not shown) of her mutilated corpse shocked the world

Shani Louk and her boyfriend Orion Hernandez Radoux attended the Nova music festival

Shanni Louk’s mother (left) is comforted by a friend during her daughter’s funeral

Shani Louk’s parents mourn during her funeral in Srigim, Israel on Sunday

Relatives and relatives were writing on the coffin last night during the funeral

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.

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.

‘It was in a relatively deep place in a deep tunnel and very cold, so the physical condition is really good.

Ricarda Louk, Shani’s mother, told the Daily Mail after the discovery: ‘It’s like closing a circle. Her mind has been free for six months, but now her body is back home and she can rest in peace.’

A prestigious university has been branded a ‘disgrace’ after awarding the world’s oldest photojournalism award for a photo of the mutilated and murdered October 7 victim.

The photo of Shani’s corpse was the centerpiece of the entry that won the AP photo agency the Team Picture Story of the Year category from the Missouri School of Journalism’s Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute.

In response to the uproar that followed, AP issued a statement saying: “Documenting major news events around the world – no matter how horrific – is our job.

“Without AP and other news organizations, the world would not have known what happened on October 7.”

The IDF said on Friday on X: “Our troops recovered their bodies overnight and brought them back home to Israel.

Family and relatives will carry the coffin during the funeral on Sunday

The German-Israeli was one of the 364 people killed at the SuperNova Festival, which she attended with her boyfriend. Flowers are laid at her grave yesterday

Mourners carry Shani Louk’s flag-covered coffin during her funeral in Srigim, Israel

Family and friends carry Shani’s coffin at her funeral last night

A mourner lights a candle at Shani’s grave yesterday, laden with floral tributes

“We will continue to bring back all our hostages. 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. More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza war since the attack, according to Hamas-controlled health officials in Gaza.

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.