Shani Louk’s parents have described the heartbreaking moment they saw her body seven months after Hamas terrorists killed her and paraded her half-naked body through Gaza.
The bittersweet milestone for the 22-year-old tattoo artist’s family comes as relatives of the remaining Israeli hostages gathered at New York City’s Flatiron Plaza on Friday to demand their release.
“The body we have now is complete and beautiful and, in fact, it looks like she is alive,” Shani’s father, Nissim Louk, told the newspaper. New York Post on Friday.
The condition of his body was “a miracle,” Nissim added.
“I think he had been in one of the tunnels, where it was very, very cold… that’s why the body is full and beautiful and the skin is still the same color, you can still see the tattoos, it’s incredible,” Nissim said.
German-Israeli tattoo artist Shani Louk, 22, was killed by Hamas in October 2023 after being kidnapped at the Nova music festival. His body was recovered on Friday in Gaza.
Nissim and Ricarda Louk, Shani Louk’s parents, expressed their relief at the discovery of their daughter’s body. Nissim invited his fellow Israelis to her funeral on Sunday
Nissim said the family was relieved that the Israel Defense Forces recovered Shani’s body in Gaza and brought her back to Israel. She invited other Israelis to attend her funeral on Sunday.
Shani’s mother told DailyMail.com that her daughter’s “spirit is free.”
‘It’s like closing a circle. His spirit has been free for half a year, but now his body is back home and can rest in peace,” said Ricarda Louk.
The IDF also announced on Friday the discovery of the remains of hostages Itzhak Gelerenter, 53, and Amit Buskila, 28.
There are still about 100 hostages who could be alive in Gaza, and one of them is Omer Shem-Tov.
Shem-Tov’s cousin, Leat Corinne Unger (center), gave a detailed account of her cousin’s seven-month imprisonment by Hamas.
Unger, right, said Shem-Tov, 21, who has kept his faith despite receiving little food and having to ration it to keep the Sabbath.
Shem-Tov’s cousin, Leat Corinne Unger, was at the ‘Open Tent Shabbat’ event in New York on Friday, organized by the United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council.
Shem-Tov, 21, was one of the Israelis dragged to Gaza by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attack on the Nova music festival. He remains in Gaza to this day.
Unger said Shem-Tov’s family had to watch helplessly as his phone’s shared location revealed he was being kidnapped.
“By sharing the live location, his family witnessed his kidnapping in Gaza,” Unger told the Post during the event.
Unger said Shem-Tov heard gunshots around 6:30 a.m. That’s when he called her sister to tell her that she was going to try to escape by car. When that plan failed, she set off into a thicket on foot.
Unfortunately, Hamas militants caught up with him and took him away in the back of a van.
Ricarda Louk pictured with her daughter Shani. Ricard said that her ‘spirit is free’ and that she can rest in peace now that she is back in Israel.
A woman walks past posters of hostages taken during the deadly October 7 attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, on May 17, 2024.
Unger revealed that Shem-Tov kept his faith, which she and the family learned from their friend Itay.
Itay was also kidnapped along with Shem-Tov, but was later released as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Once he was free, Itay told the family that he and Shem-Tov would keep track of time by listening to Muslim prayers. They would also reportedly ration their food.
“One time they scraped the salt off the pretzels they were given, used very little and saved the rest,” Unger said, adding that they were also given grape juice and saved it.
‘The small amount of pita bread they were given, they took every part of their portions and recited the Sabbath blessing to bring light to the darkness.’
Shani Louk pictured in July 2023, months before her death, in the Czech Republic
Pictured: Student camp at Columbia University on April 23. They met shortly before Columbia’s president gave them a deadline to disperse.
Unger, a Columbia University alumna, also offered her opinion on the pro-Palestinian campus protests that have swept across the United States in recent weeks, perhaps most prominently at her alma mater.
“If they really want to stop the suffering of innocent Palestinians, they will demand the release of the hostages,” Unger said.
He continued: “With the release of the hostages comes a ceasefire and an end to suffering and bloodshed everywhere.”
Unger described the seven months since Shem-Tov was abducted as a “roller coaster” but said his family is “hopeful” he will return safely.
Israel continues its ground invasion in Rafah and Hamas has said it will fight back.no matter how long the aggression lasts and regardless of its form.’
UNRWA, the main UN aid agency for the Palestinians, said more than 630,000 people had fled Rafah since the offensive began on May 6, Reuters reported.