THE heartbroken parents of murdered Hamas hostage Shani Louk have revealed how they felt the moment they saw their daughter’s lifeless body return home.
The German tattoo artist, 22, was one of thousands slaughtered at the horrific Nova festival by Hamas thugs during the October 7 massacre with Israeli forces only discovering her body on Friday.
Shani’s body was returned to her family in Israel seven months after they tragically first heard she had been killed.
Her mother Ricarda was relieved to finally get closure on the entire hellish saga as she got to say goodbye to her daughter so she can “rest in peace”.
“It is like closing a circle. Her spirit is free already half a year, but now her body is back home and can rest in peace,” she told the Daily Mail.
Her loving father Nissim Louk described his daughter’s body as still looking “beautiful” despite the horrors that led to her tragic death.
Nissim said Shani’s body was in a near perfect condition when he saw her, dubbing it “a miracle”.
He poured his heart out to the New York Post saying: “The body that we have now is complete and beautiful and looks like she’s alive actually.
“I think she’d been in one of the tunnels which was very, very cold…that’s why the body is complete and beautiful and the skin is still the same color.
“You still see the tattoos, it’s amazing.”
A funeral for Shani is set for Sunday with the family inviting everyone to come and celebrate her life.
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari shared the tragic news of a trio of bodies being found dead in Gaza this week.
Two other hostages Amit Buskila and Itzhak Gelerenter were also found lifeless in the destroyed Strip.
All three were killed by the terrorists during the music festival with their bodies being taken to Gaza in a sickening Hamas display of violence.
Shani was last seen in a set of harrowing images showing Hamas terrorists parading her body on the pack of a pickup truck.
Militants were later seen jeering and spitting on Shani’s body as she was driven through the battered streets.
The sheer brutality of the way Shani was treated made her an international symbol of Hamas’ savagery.
The fiends claimed she was an Israeli soldier.
Shani was first reported as being dead in October when her mother and sister confirmed the tragic situation.
Mum Ricarda told NTV: “Unfortunately we got the news yesterday that my daughter is no longer alive.”
Loving sister Adi separately announced: “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of my sister.”
The disturbing images of a shell-shocked Shani rocked the world and prompted millions to call for the end of the terror squad.
Alongside the 1,200 people murdered on October 7, Hamas also snatched around 250 innocent Israeli and foreign nationals.
Half of those taken and dragged to Gaza have since been freed, most in swaps for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a week-long ceasefire in November.
But about 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of about 30 others, according to Israel.
It comes as Hamas claimed last week that a British-Israeli hostage held in Gaza since October 7 has died due to an Israeli air strike.
The terrorist group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, announced in a video that Nadav Popplewell, 51, had died due to him failing to get treatment on injuries caused by the air strike.
It came just hours after the thugs released an 11-second clip showing him alive and causing false hope to his family and friends.
The hostage video was the third time in less than a month that the group released footage of trapped captives.
On April 27, Hamas released a video showing two hostages alive — Keith Siegel and Omri Miran.
Three days earlier it broadcast another video showing hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin alive with a mangled hand.
The videos come amid growing domestic pressure on the Israeli government to secure the release of the hostages after talks of a ceasefire repeatedly break down.
ISRAEL rejected a ceasefire proposal at the start of May as they pushed on with its long-threatened assault on Rafah.
There was a slither of hope of an agreement being met as senior Hamas officials announced they had accepted a ceasefire deal – sparking short-lived but loud celebrations across Gaza.
However, Israel rejected their proposal, saying it fell short of “core demands”.
An Israeli official described Hamas’s announcement as “a ruse intended to make Israel look like the side refusing a deal”.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu sent out a “very generous” offer calling for a 40-day truce with the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the most vulnerable of Israeli hostages.
The plan was backed by both Britain and the US.
But Hamas categorically refused to comply saying any agreement must involve the complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
They also called for a permanent end to the war.
Israeli leaders have repeatedly rejected any such trade-off – vowing to keep up their campaign until Hamas is destroyed.
Hopes of a ceasefire now hang on by a thread with Israel already saying their Rafah offensive has led to several Hamas casualties.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: “This operation will continue until we eliminate Hamas in the Rafah area and the entire Gaza Strip, or until the first hostage returns.”
A senior Hamas official warned Israel are now on their “last chance” to free the scores of hostages still trapped.
It comes as the IDF has been storming into Rafah in recent weeks as they look to seek and destroy any last remnants of Hamas.
Israel says it is Hamas’ last major stronghold in the Gaza Strip.
They have been “eliminating terrorists” and “terrorist infrastructure” with hundreds of “terror targets” already being hit.
Repeated airstrikes have also been ongoing since the start on May with three “significant” tunnel shafts also being found.
It is believed the remaining hostages are still being held underground inside the web of Hamas hideouts.
Military tanks have also been seen encircling the entire eastern half of the refugee-filled city.
The tanks have advanced to the road that divides the Gaza Strip, effectively encircling the entire eastern half of refugee-filled Rafah.
The offensive comes despite international opposition, and as Netanyahu says his country is ready to “fight with our fingernails”.
The death toll of Israel’s military operation in Gaza has now passed at least 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
