The mother of Shani Louk, a 22-year-old German national believed to be among over 100 civilians and Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas, told British television host Piers Morgan that she believes her daughter is still alive in Gaza.
Louk, a tattoo artist, was one of the many young people attending the Tribe of Supernova music festival in the plains of the Negev Desert, close to the Gaza Strip, on October 7 when Hamas fighters stormed the event.
Louk's family says that they have recognized her as one of the people seized by Hamas militants in a video that shows fighters parading a naked woman through the streets in the back of a pick-up. The family said they knew it was Louk, thanks to her unique leg tattoo.
Her mother, Ricarda, feared Louk was dead after seeing the video, which showed the woman apparently unconscious, but she has since grown hopeful that her daughter is still alive and in Gaza.
Talking with Morgan on Sky News Australia via a video call, Ricarda Louk said her family got "some reports from information that she's held in a hospital and that she's injured badly in the head."
Ricarda Louk added that the family is still hopeful Louk is alive "even after this horrific video seeing her on the truck," which she described as something "you just can't imagine as a parent" and which "breaks you completely."
The mother then talked of her appeal to the German government to intervene and help the family retrieve Shani Louk. Ricarda Louk said that the relatives are constantly in touch with authorities for any update on their side. However, they are not getting "anything in return" and they don't know what conversations are being held "behind the scenes" about the hostages.
Ricarda Louk then spoke of the clues giving the family hopes that the 22-year-old is still alive, including being contacted by her daughter's bank because her credit card is being used in Gaza.
"It was a small amount, and we know that they tried to pick it out in the Gaza Strip, in a shop, and we hope... we just try to catch every little piece of information to get new hope," Ricarda Louk said.
On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces notified families that at least 199 hostages are being held by Hamas militants in Gaza. Among them, authorities believe there are elderly, children, and women. The Israeli military, which is preparing for an announced ground invasion of Gaza after heavily bombing the area in the days following Hamas' attack, said they won't carry out an attack that would endanger the hostages.
On the evening of the same day, Hamas released the first video apparently showing an injured Israeli hostage. She identifies herself as 21-year-old Mia Schem, an Israeli national from Shoham, a town in the Central District of Israel. In the clip, which lasts a little over a minute, Schem told the camera that she is being treated in Gaza for her injury and wants to go home. While the location and time of the video is unspecified, the New York Times wrote that metadata indicates parts of the footage were filmed at least six days ago.
The fate of Louk, as well as her exact location and conditions, is still unknown.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more
