Herzog says German-Israeli Shani Louk found beheaded after being taken to Gaza

The family of Shani Louk, 23 years-old, first announced her death on Monday morning. Israel's President Isaac Herzog later revealed that the young German-Israeli woman was beheaded after the Hamas massacre on October 7.

Louk was kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival, in Kibbutz Re'im, and taken by Hamas terrorists to the Gaza Strip, where she was seen lying motionless on the back of a truck, disfigured after the brutal massacre in southern Israel.

A video was released the same day as the attack, showing a mob in Gaza spitting and beating a woman with torn clothing. Louk was later identified by her leg tattoo. Despite being seriously wounded and disfigured, mother Ricarda believed her daughter was alive.

“I am truly sorry to report that we have now received news that Shani Nicole Louk has been confirmed murdered and dead. Her skull was found," Herzog told the German newspaper Bild.

"This means that these barbaric, sadistic animals simply chopped off her head as they attacked, tortured and killed Israelis. It is a great tragedy and I extend my deepest condolences to her family," the president said, adding that "about 40 bodies have not yet been identified."

"What we saw on the Gaza-Israel border goes far beyond a pogrom. We saw a slaughterhouse. We saw the blood flowing in the streets. We have seen the most horrific tragedies imaginable," Herzog concluded.

Herzog also explained to Bild that the identification process takes so long because the "people were brutally abused, burned or dismembered."