The father of a woman killed in Hamas' attack on Israel last month has described recognising her in videos online. He initially thought that she was safe in Tel Aviv, far from the Gaza Strip.
Shani Louk was at the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7.
It was initially believed the 22-year-old German-Israeli tattoo artist was kidnapped — but her family has now said it's likely she was killed during the bloody Hamas attack that day, the Guardian reports.
About 1200 people have died on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed during the initial attack. Hamas took about 240 captives back into Gaza. More than 11,500 Palestinians have since been killed according to Palestinian health authorities.
Nissim Louk, Shani's father, told Breakfast this morning: "We thought in the beginning that it was thunder.
"But in the end, they were rockets that Hamas terrorists were shooting towards Tel Aviv. It was very early in the morning," he added.
"The first thing that I did was tell my wife, if it's possible, that she can call Shani.
"I was sure that she's in Tel Aviv, I didn't know anything about the party in the south."
Nissim said he asked Shani's mother to tell their daughter to find shelter. Shani answered the phone call.
"She said something like, 'We are at a party in the south, we have to go'," he said. "I thought, 'OK, so she is heading towards Tel Aviv'.
"So everything is fine — but then, after a while, we start getting videos and TikTok clips, and then we saw our beautiful child lying in the back of a pickup," Nissim said. The couple recognised their daughter from the tattoos on her legs.
"We were shocked, totally shocked, and we didn't know exactly what to do."
Nissim and his wife contacted the German embassy in Israel. They answered immediately, he said.
"The first morning after that, all over the news in Europe — Germany, England, all over — they saw the picture of Shani on one side, how nice and beautiful she is, and how she lies on the back of the pickup.
"We hope that she was alive that time, we really hope."
For three weeks, the couple didn't know what to do or what to expect. Then, they learned of Shani's death.
A bone from Shani's skull had reportedly been found and matched with her DNA. Doctors determined a person cannot live without the piece of bone that was found, and that her injuries wouldn't have been survivable.
"It was Sunday night when the army arrived and they said that she died," Nissim said. "They tell you that your daughter, your beautiful daughter, is not alive — which is very sad for a father.
"But from the other end, you know, I thought, 'I am happy because I know that she didn't suffer, she was dancing all night'," he said.
"They were dancing and happy and having a good time, the best time of their life. I heard that it was a great party.
"She was so pure. I'm sure she didn't even know who they are, these guys."
He said the area where the party was held was supposed to be secure. It's close to the border with Gaza.
"There are tanks all over, there are soldiers all over, there are police officers all over," Nissim said.
"Nobody thought that something like this can happen.
"Shani was a very, very nice girl, really. Amazing. Always happy, always smiling. Since she was a baby, she used to go and pick up flowers from the garden and put it inside her shirt," he added.
"The fact that her body is still in Gaza — and I don't know if one day it will be back, or not — but for me, it's not that important, actually.
"Because we have a piece of her DNA, which is important, and we will bury this piece of DNA in a grave and go every year to sit with her and to celebrate with her and to remember her as a beautiful young girl that will never get old."
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