“We’re so completely in the dark”
Shani Louk’s mother criticizes German authorities
October 14, 2023, 8:49 p.m
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A 22-year-old was allegedly kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Her mother has been publicly fighting for information about her daughter for days. After a meeting with Foreign Minister Baerbock, she called for quick action.
Shani Louk’s mother hopes that the federal government will do more to free German hostages in the Gaza Strip. “We hope that more will be done now,” said Ricarda Louk a day after her meeting with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Israel. “It was good that she was here in our country.” Baerbock met with families of the hostages on Friday.
22-year-old Shani Louk was a victim of the Hamas attack last weekend at a music festival in Israel’s Negev Desert. A few hours after the attack, a video was posted online showing her lying lifeless in the back of a pickup truck. However, her family is convinced that the 22-year-old is still alive: she is said to be seriously injured in a hospital. The family received this information three days ago “from a familiar person in the Gaza Strip,” said Louk. She couldn’t say anything more about her source.
“My daughter has a head injury”
Among those suspected of being abducted are small children and old people who need medicine. “My daughter has a head injury,” said Louk after the conversation with Baerbock. It was important for the families to make it clear “that we don’t have time.”
“Everyone there is in danger,” Louk said. However, no one has yet been able to confirm 100% that the information about their daughter is correct. Her family shares all information with the German and Israeli authorities, but receives nothing in return, said Ricarda Louk: “We are so completely in the dark and that is the most difficult thing.”
“It’s not just Shani”
Her family has now joined forces with other affected people. “It’s not just Shani, but there are many more families affected and terrible fates,” said Louk. “The minister also sees that it is real. These are not stories, these are real fates and people and children and grandmothers who were kidnapped.” (…) “It’s unimaginable and the whole world needs to know it.”
After crisis talks in Egypt, Foreign Minister Baerbock appealed to Hamas to release all hostages kidnapped from Israel. The federal government is aware of eight cases of German nationals among those abducted, primarily dual nationals, said the Green politician after a meeting with her Egyptian colleague Samih Schukri in the capital Cairo. All channels are being used “to obtain information about whose hands the hostages are and to do everything possible to ensure that these innocent people are released,” added the Federal Foreign Minister.