Shani Nicole
Louk

von Dirk Bruck am 30.10.2023 - 11:42 Uhr | melden

Killing of Shani Louk
Shani Nicole Louk (February 7, 2001 – October 7, 2023) was a German-Israeli tattoo artist and influencer who came to public attention after the Reim music festival massacre[, as one of the festival-goers who went missing, as a Video was widely circulated shortly after the attack and showed its seemingly unwitting example of Gaza.Hamas pickup truck. Described by security experts and commentators as Hamas social media propaganda, it became one of the first viral videos of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war. Additional attention was brought to her case after her mother, who later said she received information to the German government that Louk was alive and had been in a hospital in Gaza. Since then, she has been counted as one of eight German nationals who have been arrested, according to German authorities.
Some journalists have linked the distribution of the video to the European Commissions 2023 investigations into Twitter for allowing illegal content to be distributed.
On October 29, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces informed Louks mother, Ricarda, that her daughters DNA had been identified on a skull fragment at the massacre site in Reim, indicating that she had already died on October 7.
Shani Louk
Shani Louk
Born
Shani Nicole Louk

February 7, 2001
Died
October 2023
Reim, Israel
citizenship
Germany
Israel
profession(s)
Tattoo artist, social media influencer
Known for
Missing person since the Reim festival massacre (allegedly held hostage by Hamas); seen in a viral video
Shani Louk was born on February 7, 2001 to an Israeli father and a German mother, Ricarda Louk, who had lived in Ravensburg and moved to Israel Louk and her family in the early 2000s to Portland, Oregon , and she attended kindergarten at the Portland Jewish Academy. She is a freelancer. and also has a following as an InstagramInstagram influencer.

Disappear
Reim music festival massacre
On October 7, 2023, as part of the first incursion in the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, HamasHamas operatives entered Israel from the Gaza Strip and carried out a massacre at the Supernova Sukkot Gathering music festival. The event was a light reception psychedelic trance festival that coincided with the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at the Negev desert barrier, near the ReimReim kibbutz.
Louk was at the festival accompanied by her boyfriend, a Mexican national. After the Red Missile Alert went off and the attack began, Louk called her mother and said that there were few places to hide and that she would try to find one. She went missing after that.
Video after the disappearance
After the massacre, a video emerged showing Louk partially clothed and seemingly unconscious, with blood on her hair, being paraded in the streets of a pickup truck by Gaza CityHamas activists in the city of Hamas; They shouted "Allahu Akbar" and were joined in the cheers of the people. The video went viral, becoming one of the first viral videos of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.
According to security experts interviewed by Agence France-Presse, the publication of the video, which shows dead or captured civilians, has the character of deliberate and sophisticated propaganda aimed at creating feelings of "haunting, paralysis and humiliation" among the population , and that the viral spread of such materials leads to Hamas strengthening. Although Hamas has been banned as a terrorist organization on Twitter, some of its propaganda videos have circulated there after being posted from one platform to another. One such video discussed by journalists was the one showing Louk; along with other Hamas-related content that was shared, it prompted the European Commission to warn Twitter owner Elon Musk for enabling the spread of illegal content and then, on October 12, to launch an investigation into Twitter for "rape" and "hurt."The columnist Nicholas Kristof discussed the video as an example of the causes of trauma and anger experienced in Jewish communities after the attacks. According to commentator Bobby Ghosh, Hamas was quick to release propaganda videos that sought to be the first to make war profits, but the video showing that Louk did not demoralize Israeli society; instead, their “treatment by [their] captors drew widespread disgust and anger, and if anything, strengthened Israeli resolve

In some early media, Louk reports that he was killed, and what is depicted in the video as her lifeless body. Her family believes she is alive and has appealed to the German government for help. Her mother, Ricarda Louk, said she received an apartment from a Palestinian family on October 10. Severe head injuries and is in critical condition. A later report by Human Rights Watch said the family came to believe that Louk suffered a serious head injury after watching the video. Ricarda also received a bank notice that Louks credit card was used near the Indonesian hospital in Gaza on October 8.
As of October 10, 2023, there has been no confirmation from Israeli, German or Palestinian authorities regarding Shani Louks location or her current status. On October 13, Annalena Baerbock, Federal Foreign Minister, met with Ricarda Louk and other family members of the abductees with German citizenship during her visit to Israel. After the meeting, Ricarda spoke at a press conference about how German-Israeli citizens are receiving support from Germany and that the German government is "really serious" and "trying to find solutions." Baerbock said Germany was "in communication with all actors who have contact with Hamas" to send a message that the hostages must be freed. Members of the families, including Louk, then met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his October 17 solidarity visit to Israel. German authorities count Louk among eight German nationals taken hostage during the war
Ricarda Louk told the press that the Israel Defense Forces informed her on October 29, 2023 that her daughter Shani was dead. Her DNA was identified on a piece of skull at the site of the massacre, suggesting she had already died on October 7. Source: Wikipedia