The mother of a German woman whose daughter was captured by Hamas militants at an outdoor music festival in Israel has issued a plea for information.
The outdoor Nova Festival event in a rural farmland area near the Gaza-Israel border was supposed to be an all-night dance party, celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
It was just one of multiple locations hit on Saturday morning by the most sustained and coordinated assault inside Israel ever carried out by Hamas militants.
The gunmen left multiple revelers dead at the scene while multiple attendees were taken hostage, seen in social media videos being seized by their armed captors.
In a video authenticated by CNN, an unconscious woman who was at the festival could be seen being displayed by armed militants in Gaza.
CNN has confirmed the identity of the woman as Shani Louk, a German-Israeli dual national. CNN has reached out to her family for comment but has not yet received a response.
In the video, Louk is seen motionless. One gunman, carrying a rocket-propelled grenade, has his leg draped over her waist; the other holds a clump of her dreadlocks. “Allahu Akbar,” they cheer – meaning “God is great” in Arabic.
Some of the crowd gathered around the truck join in the cheers. One man spits on Louk’s head as the car drives off.
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CNN does not know Louk’s whereabouts or condition at this time. CNN is not airing the video because it is graphic and disturbing.
“We recognised her by the tattoos, and she has long dreadlocks,” Louk’s cousin told the Washington Post.
“We have some kind of hope … Hamas is responsible for her and the others.”
A German foreign ministry source told CNN: “The Federal Foreign Office and the German embassy in Tel Aviv are in close contact with the Israeli authorities in order to clarify whether and to what extent German citizens are affected.”
In a video obtained by German news outlet Bild, Louk’s mother Ricarda said: “This morning my daughter, Shani Nicole Louk, a German citizen, was kidnapped with a group of tourists in southern Israel by Palestinian Hamas.”
“We were sent a video in which I could clearly see our daughter unconscious in the car with the Palestinians and them driving around the Gaza Strip,” she said.
“I ask you to send us any help or any news. Thank you very much.”
