As the war between Israel and Hamas continues following a surprise attack by the latter, families in Israel and across the world are trying to figure out if their loved ones have been killed or taken hostage by the terrorist group.
As reported by The Dallas Express, war broke out after Hamas launched thousands of rockets on Saturday and deployed armed men into parts of southern Israel adjoining the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Hundreds of Israelis and foreign nationals were killed in one of the bloodiest days in the nation’s tumultuous history, and more than 100 were reportedly taken into Gaza.
Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer recently announced that a number of American citizens were among those reportedly killed or kidnapped.
Videos of Hamas capturing people or parading bodies through the streets of the Gaza Strip have been spread over social media.
One video (WARNING: GRAPHIC) of a woman stripped down to her underwear in the bed of a Hamas truck surrounded by seemingly jubilant men spitting on her body has gotten a lot of attention. The woman was later identified as German national Shani Nicole Louk, 30.
It is currently unclear if she is alive or dead, but her mother, Ricarda, recognized her daughter from the video. She pleaded in a video of her own for news and help. A translation reads:
@abcnews The mother of Shani Louk, a German-Israeli dual national who was reportedly attending the Supernova music festival in southern Israel, is seen in a video appealing for help after she believes her daughter was kidnapped by Hamas. A disturbing video emerged over the weekend showing a woman matching Louk’s appearance motionless and semi-naked in the back of a pickup truck. She was surrounded by armed men chanting “Allahu Akbar” and one man can be seen spitting on her head.
“[Saturday] morning, my daughter Shani Nicole Louk, who is a German citizen, was abducted with a tourist group in the south of Israel by Palestinian Hamas. We were sent a video in which I clearly recognized my daughter, unconscious in a car with the Palestinians who drove along the Gaza Strip. I am asking for any news or help to please be sent to us.”
Louk was reportedly taken when Hamas militants attacked a music festival in southern Israel, killing party-goers and kidnapping young women such as Noa Argamani, 25, the Independent reported. As people fled, the invaders patrolled the roads and shot at civilians as they attempted to drive past, according to survivors.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken explained on CNN, “We have reports that several Americans were killed. We’re working overtime to verify that. At the same time, there are reports of missing Americans and there again, we’re working to verify those reports.”
Sunday evening, ABC News reported that at least four U.S. citizens were confirmed killed over the weekend.
Trey Yingst, a foreign correspondent for Fox News who has been reporting from the war front, said, “The videos of dead Israeli soldiers and civilians being paraded through the streets of Gaza will be seared into Israeli minds for generations to come.”
“The response from the Israeli military will likely go on for a long time,” he continued. “Difficult days ahead.”
As of 11 p.m. Sunday, more than 700 people have been reported killed in Israel, the overwhelming number of whom were civilians. More than 2,100 have been wounded. In Gaza, the death toll pushed past 400 but is expected to climb much further amid the Israeli airstrikes hitting the territory.
