Shani Louk's mother says militant who paraded her body through Gaza is dead

The 22-year-old Israeli-German citizen was killed while trying to flee Hamas attack on Israel

Shani Louk was killed while trying to escape from militants who stormed the Nova music festival in southern Israel. Photo: @shanukkk/ Instagram

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

A Hamas militant who paraded Shani Louk’s body through Gaza has been killed by the Israeli military, her mother said.

The 22-year-old Israeli-German citizen was attending the Nova music festival in southern Israel when Hamas launched its attack on October 7.

It is believed she died after being shot by militants while trying to flee in a car with friends.

She was among up to 270 people killed at the festival.

The tattoo artist’s body was later pictured with four men in the back of a pickup truck. Ms Louk’s mother, Ricarda, 53, said one of those men had been killed.

In a video shared on X, formerly Twitter, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach said Ms Louk told him the Israeli military had killed the “monster”.

Speaking in an interview with the rabbi on Facebook, she said she knew “by chance” that a man who was seen sitting in the back of the vehicle is “not alive any more”.

“It didn’t mean too much to me – there are so many bad people that did those horrible things and it’s just one less,” she said.

“You’re happy that this person cannot hurt anyone else but it didn’t matter so much because it’s a whole bunch of people.

“It’s not like a typical murder story where you find the murderer and they got killed – they did those things as a group, so one doesn’t make so much difference to me.”

“She was a very happy, lively person,” said Ms Louk of her daughter in her interview with the rabbi.

“She liked music and dancing and living and she was really enjoying it until the last moment.”

It came as the military said on Friday it had found the body of another hostage taken by Hamas, identifying her as a soldier, Corporal Noa Marciano.

Like the body of another hostage found Thursday, 65-year-old Yehudit Weiss, Ms Marciano's corpse was recovered in a building adjacent to Shifa, the military said.

Four hostages taken in the initial Hamas attack have now been confirmed dead, while four others have been freed and one rescued.

Ms Louk said she wants Israel to swap the estimated 240 hostages held by Hamas for 4,450 Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

“To keep those hostages alive is more important than having those prisoners here, from my perspective,” she said. “Give them all the prisoners as long as they can save some of our lives.”

The captives range in age from nine months to 85 and are believed to be held in tunnels under the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under fierce criticism from some of the hostages' relatives for not doing more to arrange their release, as the Israeli military pushes deep into Gaza with the aim of destroying Hamas.

Hamas has said it could agree to a Qatar-mediated deal for the release of 100 Israeli hostages in return for 200 Palestinian children and 75 women being held in Israeli prisons.

But a ceasefire and an influx of humanitarian aid would have to be part of any deal, it said.

Mr Netanyahu has so far rejected any talk of a ceasefire, saying he would only be willing to pause the fighting if all the Israeli hostages were freed.