The mother of the German woman whose unmoving, semi-naked body was seen paraded through the streets of Gaza by Hamas has been told her daughter is alive - but is fighting for her life in hospital.
Grave fears were held for Shani Louk after a distressing video emerged showing Hamas fighters sitting on her in the back of a ute.
A celebrating crowd surrounded her and armed men in combat fatigues, who shouted “God is great” from the open back of the truck.
Some in the crowd, which included youngsters, spat on her body before the truck sped away on a day of unprecedented massacres of Israeli civilians.
Louk’s family earlier confirmed they had seen the video but said they “still have some kind of hope” that she had survived.
Now Louk’s mother Ricarda Louk has told German outlet news outlet Bild: “We now have evidence that Shani is alive but has a serious head injury and is in critical condition. Every minute is critical.”
Louk, 23, was among the hundreds of victims caught in the crossfire as militants stormed an outdoor dance party near Kibbutz Urim, close to the border with Gaza.
More than 300 Israelis were killed, with 2000 injured and 100 kidnapped during the surprise assault by the Islamist group.
“You have to act quickly and get Shani out of the Gaza Strip,” Ricarda Louk told German authorities.
“We shouldn’t argue about questions of jurisdiction now.”
Video from social media was widely shared showing a smiling Louk dancing with friends at the Supernova festival, unaware hundreds of Hamas militants were about to cross the border.
Shortly before the attack on the camp Shani Louk was dancing with her friends. #Israel_under_attack pic.twitter.com/KWcuuOrxrO
— Duna Press (@dunapressjornal) October 8, 2023
Louk grew up in Israel but was a German citizen, which helped her avoid military service.
Her aunt Orly Louk earlier told German newspaper Der Spiegel that her niece was a peace campaigner and conscientious objector.
Orly said Shani had refused to take up the military service that is mandatory for Israelis because of her pacifist views, adding that her German passport helped.
German prosecutors have said they are investigating after German citizens were apparently kidnapped in the attack on Israel, Associated Press reported.
The federal prosecutor’s office said the investigation of unknown members of Hamas on suspicion of hostage-taking, murder and membership in a foreign terrorist organisation was opened on Tuesday.
The German Foreign Ministry has said it has to assume that an unspecified number of German-Israeli dual citizens were among those Hamas kidnapped on Saturday.
It is standard practice for German prosecutors to open an investigation when the country’s citizens are harmed abroad.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Supernova, dozens of partygoers were reported to have been killed or kidnapped, with many more still missing.
Israeli rescue service Zaka later said its paramedics removed about 260 bodies from the area and warned the toll will rise.
Survivors told how they had fled in cars and on foot across the desert, dodging machine gun fire, artillery and rocket-propelled grenades.
Partygoer Chen Mizrachi, a resident of Tel Aviv, told Israel’s Ynet news website: “It started at seven in the morning. When the rocket fire from the sky began, we started shouting ‘Code Red’ to everyone [a warning used by Israelis for incoming rocket attacks from Gaza]. There were several firing points; we ran from one direction to another.
“Many fell and were injured from terrorist fire. Somehow, we managed to escape the line of fire. They shot at us three times during the escape.”
He and his friends eventually escaped, despite a rocket-propelled grenade hitting their car. “Gradually, I see friends I know arriving at the hospital. These are very, very difficult sights,” he added.
Gunmen stalked the festival site executing revellers, other witnesses said.
Gili Yoskovich told the BBC that she hid under a fruit tree, playing dead for three hours to dodge the gunfire and killings.
“I saw people were dying all around. I was very quiet. I didn’t cry, I didn’t do anything,’ she said.
“I was ... breathing, saying: ‘Okay, I’m going to die. It’s okay, just breathe, just close your eyes’.”
She added: “They were going tree by tree and shooting. Everywhere. From two sides. I saw people were dying all around.”
The war has now killed at least 1600 people. Israel has placed the Gaza Strip under siege, cutting off power and putting it under heavy bombardment.
Numerous countries also offered to play a role in mediating an end to the fighting.
Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said Tuesday the ongoing escalation between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza “is very serious”, warning of repercussions on the region’s “security and stability”.
El-Sissi, whose government maintains ties with Israel and Hamas, said they have intensified their efforts to reach a ceasefire of the ongoing war, according to the state-run Mena news agency.
“We are communicating with all international and regional parties to reach an immediate cessation of violence and achieve de-escalation,” El-Sissi said.
The Egyptian leader affirmed his country’s position on establishing a “just and comprehensive peace” based on the two-state solution.
- Additional reporting, Daily Telegraph, Associated Press