The mother of Shani Louk, a 22-year-old German national believed to have been kidnapped by Hamas fighters during the militant group’s surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, said on Tuesday that her daughter is alive.

Louk, a tattoo artist, was attending the Tribe of Nova music festival in the plains of the Negev Desert near Urim, close to the Gaza Strip, on Saturday when Hamas fighters stormed the event. She’s believed to have been seized by the militants and paraded through the streets in the back of a pick-up.

On Tuesday, Louk’s family announced they had proof that Louk—who grew up in Israel—was alive. German news website Blick reported that her mother said she was in a hospital in Gaza with serious head injuries.

“We now have more information that Shani is alive,” her mother told television channel NTV, adding she received the information from unnamed Palestinian sources.

The mother added that Louk is seriously injured, and asked the German government for help and quick action.

  • P03 Locke@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 year ago

    While I’m glad some good news came out of this, can we maybe focus on the 1,600 other people that are missing or died during the Hamas attack? News media has this obsession over reporting on young white females in peril.

    • Zoldyck@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      With almost non-stop negative news the past few days, some positive news seems very welcome thb.

      • deweydecibel@lemmy.world
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        She’s in a hospital with severe head injuries. And as someone else pointed out, it’s a Gaza hospital, there’s no place in Gaza that’s safe right now from Israel’s response.

        This isn’t positive news, it’s slightly less bad news.

    • CALIGVLA@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      Reporting on brown, middle-eastern nationals? In a war in their own country? What is this woke bullshit?!

      • prole@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Israel is an occupying force in Palestine. It’s not “their own country,” just because they say it is and have the US military to back them up.

  • laylawashere44@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 year ago

    So she is in a Gazan Hospital. The same Gazan hospitals that Israeli bombing has now overwhelmed and whose blockade is preventing humanitarian aid from entering. Hey maybe the UN was right in calling out that a total siege is illegal.

    • Khalic@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I wanted to say: not even israel would be stupid enough to let them die of thirst… but how much crazy shit happened these last 10 years? I don’t know, I hope not…

      • prole@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Are you kidding?! We’re about to see human suffering on a level not seen since WW2. Netanyahu loves that this happened, because now he can indiscriminately murder and displace Palestinians without as much blowback.

    • qdJzXuisAndVQb2@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      The blockade is enforced by Israel and Egypt together, they share the blame for this war crime.

      • laylawashere44@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 year ago

        Nope. The raffa crossing into Egypt was open yesterday. In fact the IDF instructed people to leave via that crossing, then they bombed it today.

  • ComputerSagtNein@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Hope she’s really alive, but her life will never be the same after these horrible events :(

    • Khalic@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      If you care about victims of rape, don’t spread that bs about “life being over” and other disheartening quotes that make them feel like a used up rag. If she survives, it’s cause for celebration, period.

      • BreakDecks@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        Nobody said anything about her being raped, and never said anything about her life being over. She was present during a mass-killing, was brutalized in the process, and she is now being held captive by a terrorist group. Even if Hamas wasn’t raping their victims (which they absolutely are), living through this will, without a doubt, change the trajectory of a person’s life.

        • KredeSeraf@lemmy.world
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          It blows my mind that there are people who think mental recovery from things like this is a simple, easy process. Imagine all the horrors of war without any of the training and purpose of cause that allow you to cope just a bit and most still suffer from severe PTSD from that. She just got more trauma crammed into one week than many will see in their entire lives, with more to come and maybe more previously we don’t know about. Her life isn’t over, and it could eventually be fine. But it will be different.

      • LilB0kChoy@lemm.ee
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        I agree with the point you’re making.

        her life will never be the same after these horrible events

        I don’t think this is the equivalent of saying life is over. It’s saying that if Shani Louk is alive it’s good news while also acknowledging that there has still been significant grievous harm caused to this young woman.

        Her not being dead is not equivalent to no harm/no foul. Hamas still has responsibility for significant harm caused to Shani Louk.

        • Khalic@kbin.social
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          It wasn’t trying to diminish the atrocity, sorry if it came out that way. This is humanity at its lowest. I’m just happy she might still survive.

          I just keep the aggressor out of my head when thinking about the victim, they don’t deserve the attention.

          I guess I’m a little triggered by this specific theme, thx for the feedback.

          • LilB0kChoy@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            It wasn’t trying to diminish the atrocity, sorry if it came out that way.

            You did not, not to me at least.

            I just keep the aggressor out of my head when thinking about the victim, they don’t deserve the attention.

            That’s a great way to approach it. I was only speculating on the original commenter’s intent because that’s how I think about it too. I’ve had trauma in my past and it’s shaped who I am today; I reflect on it often. When I see stories of trauma for others I always have the thought about how their trauma is now going to shape their life going forward.

            I guess I’m a little triggered by this specific theme

            With good cause for sure! Harm and trauma don’t take away your agency or humanity, that happens by how others react to you after.

      • Socsa@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        I’m more worried about the fact that she is very likely paralyzed to some degree and appears to have a hole in her head.

      • Daisyifyoudo@lemmy.world
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        Did you actually read what you were responding to, or just have kneejerk reaction?

        You’re not wrong, but the person you are responding to didn’t say any of those things.

      • Obsession@sh.itjust.works
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        You’re the only one interpreting it like that.

        Some trauma stays with you for life. No one’s calling her a “used up rag,” the reality is that she may continue to suffer from what happened for the rest of her life.

      • GBU_28@lemm.ee
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        Suggesting their life will never be the same is not equivalent to suggesting they are worthless. They didn’t say “life being over”

        Victims of rape will never be the same, as they will have a very traumatic event in their history. That event is of significance, not devaluation.

        • hassanmckusick@lemmy.discothe.quest
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          This was the girl everyone was saying was raped and murdered. No reputable news publication has confirmed that she was raped and she is now confirmed alive.

          So slow the fuck up.

  • rullstolsbunden@lemmy.world
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    This is a big doubt. “Unnamed Palestinian sources” = Hamas propagandism.

    We have all seen the video where Hamas proudly showcases her mangled lifeless body.

    Wishful thinking from that poor mom who is being used to turn the narrative for Hamas when they realized Shani Louk was a german citizen.

    • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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      I don’t know what would be worse. If they did that grotesque parade with her corpse, or with her alive but in critical condition.

      God. This is so unbelievably fucked up. I think I’d call it unrealistic, gratuitous violence if it happened in a fictional story.

      I really have no other words. I had a history teacher who said that there was nothing more dangerous than a zealot. He was all too right.

      • Hackerman_uwu@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        You are the very first person that I have seen to even vaguely allude to the real villain in this centuries old series of tragedies: organised religion.

      • hassanmckusick@lemmy.discothe.quest
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        I don’t know what would be worse. If they did that grotesque parade with her corpse, or with her alive but in critical condition.

        I’m curious how an unconscious girl ended up in the hospital after being “paraded around in critical condition”. Any chance that was just the worlds most beat down ambulance?

  • Kalash@feddit.ch
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    German news website Blick

    It’s a Swiss news website … blick.ch

    edit: they fixed it

    Swiss German-language news website Blick

  • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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    1 year ago

    in a hospital in Gaza

    Somebody get her somewhere safe before Israel destroys that hospital

    • khalic@lemmy.world
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      Oh no, the valuable hostages go to the safe hospital that isn’t used as ammo depot or as missile launching site…

  • zephyreks@lemmy.ml
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    CNN was showing video coverage of the event where armed men (festival security? IDF?) were leading festivalgoers away at the start of the Hamas attack. There also appeared to be an armoured vehicle in the background.

    I can’t find the long form of the video that was shown, but the short form does show a vehicle with the Merkava’s characteristic chain and ball design on the turret in the background. It’s on CNN’s YouTube page and I’ll send it to people by request, but it’s rather graphic so I’d rather not link it.

    • Jmdatcs@lemmy.world
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      Am I missing something, or is it not possible to criticize the media’s obsession with attractive white girls without calling a person in a hospital after being beaten and probably gang raped stupid for no reason? You fucking piece of shit. See how I had a reason there?

    • BreakDecks@lemmy.ml
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      Because she’s one of the few foreign nationals identified as a victim. Because what we have seen of how she was brutalized is being used as an example of what Hamas is doing to their victims. Because she’s a human being whose rights are being violated to an extreme degree.

      All you know about her is related to the crimes against her, and you’re already willing to publicly insult her? What the fuck did she do wrong?

    • Saganastic@kbin.social
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      Things that are out of the ordinary make it into the headlines. This is a German citizen captured by Hamas during their invasion of Israel. Very out of the ordinary. No need to bring race into it.

    • circuscritic@lemmy.ca
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      You’re missing a lot more than something. My guess is that it’s a pretty long list which includes, but not limited to: compassion, integrity, and a lot less functioning brain cells then even the average idiot.