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 years old, was one of many kidnapped during the brutal October 7 attacks.
He tried to flee the horror with his friends but they were surrounded by the terrorist group. Later his body was displayed in the streets of Gaza.
In his last moments he called his sister to tell her ‘everything will be fine,’ his father told those present at his funeral.
Nissam spoke emotionally at the meeting on behalf of his son: ‘As a father, I could not protect you. Forgive me’.
The German-Israeli was one of the 364 people murdered at the SuperNova festival she was attending with her boyfriend.
He became a symbol of the brutal Hamas attack after the world saw the image of gunmen dragging his half-naked body back to Gaza in the back of a van.
Shani Louk, who was only 22 years old, was one of many kidnapped during the brutal attacks on October 7.
Hundreds of mourners attended Shani’s funeral last night when she was finally laid to rest.
Mourners gather near the grave of German-Israeli Shani and lay flowers on the ground.
Mourners lower Shani’s coffin into the grave last night during his funeral in Srigim.
Friends and family attend the funeral of the Israeli-German hostage last night.
Shani’s family invited the public to her funeral, which took place last night
Footage from last night shows huge, brightly colored flower arrangements surrounded by hundreds of distraught mourners sobbing at the farewell service.
Seven months after the tragedy, Shani was buried in the city of Srigim, and her family invited the public to attend the farewell.
Shani’s mother, Ricarda, said it was a “small gift” to have her daughter’s body returned home and a “relief” after being without hope for so long. The Telegraph reported.
Paying tribute to his daughter, he described her as someone who lives an “intense life with all her heart”.
Her brother Amit, who led the parade, said: “I will never stop missing you, sitting with you, talking to you and having fun with you.”
The president of Israel, 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: ‘with your death you became a symbol. You were the light in the darkness of that terror,’ the newspaper reported.
After the eulogies, Shani’s grieving friends sang an anti-war song she had written that said, “The day is over.” It’s dark and I want to go home. I don’t want a war, I want to go home.’
Photographs from last night show huge, brightly colored flower arrangements surrounded by hundreds of grieving mourners sobbing at the farewell service.
Family photos of the young woman showed a happy, carefree spirit at the beginning 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 at her funeral in Srigim, Israel, on Sunday.
In the photo, relatives and relatives write on the coffin during last night’s funeral.
The Israeli Defense Forces announced Friday that they recovered the body of the 22-year-old, as well as the remains of Itzhak Gelerenter, 53, and Amit Buskila, 28.
Nissim Louk said: ‘This morning we were informed that soldiers from a commando team were in the area and found bodies and the condition of the bodies was really good.
“It was in a relatively deep place, in a deep and very cold tunnel, so the physical condition is really good.”
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ricarda Louk, Shani’s mother, said of the discovery: “It’s like coming full circle.” Her spirit has been free for half a year, but now her body is back home and she can rest in peace.’
A prestigious university was branded a “disgrace” after awarding the world’s oldest photojournalism prize for a photograph of the victim mutilated and murdered on October 7.
The photo of Shani’s body was the centerpiece of the presentation that earned the AP Photo Agency the Team Photo Story of the Year category from the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism.
In response to the uproar that followed, AP issued a statement saying: ‘Documenting breaking news around the world, no matter how horrible, is our job.
“Without AP and other news organizations, the world would not have known what was happening on October 7.”
The IDF said in X on Friday: ‘Overnight, our troops recovered their bodies and brought them back to Israel.
Relatives and friends carry the coffin during the funeral on Sunday
The German-Israeli was one of the 364 people murdered at the SuperNova festival she was attending with her boyfriend. You can see flowers placed yesterday on her grave.
Mourners carry Shani Louk’s flag-draped coffin during his funeral in Srigim, Israel.
Family and friends carry Shani’s coffin during her funeral last night.
A mourner lights a candle yesterday near Shani’s grave, laden with floral tributes.
‘We will continue to operate to bring all our hostages home. May your memories be a blessing.’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also responded to the discovery of the bodies by saying: “We will return all our hostages, both the living and the dead.”
The military said the bodies were found overnight, without giving further details, and gave no immediate details about where they were located. Israel has been operating in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where it says it has information that hostages are being held.
Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250 more in the Oct. 7 attack. About half of those hostages have since been freed, most in exchanges for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a week-long ceasefire in November.
Israel says around 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of about 30 others. The war in Gaza since the attack has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-controlled Gaza health officials.
Netanyahu has promised to eliminate Hamas and bring back all the hostages, but has made little progress. He faces pressure to resign and the United States has threatened to reduce its support for the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Israelis are divided into two main camps: those who want the government to call off the war and release the hostages, and others who think the hostages are an unfortunate price to pay for eradicating Hamas.
Intermittent negotiations mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt have yielded little result.
