Mother of murdered hostage says Israel did not want this war

Ricarda Louk, the mother of the murdered German-Israeli hostage Shani Louk, has warns against offsetting the victims of the war in the Gaza Strip against the victims of the Hamas terror attack on October 7 last year.

"What happened on October 7 was an ugly and brutal targeted attack on civilians. I don't think it's fair to compare that to war casualties," she told the German news portal web.de News.

She said there are an awful lot of civilian casualties in Gaza. "But Israel didn't want this war, it was forced on Israel," Louk added. Those criticising Israel for it should ask themselves, "How did it start? It all began on October 7," she asserted.

Her daughter Shani Louk, 22 years old at the time, was abducted during the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas and other extremist groups in on October 7, 2023 that triggered the current war.

Shani Louk was declared dead and in May, the Israeli army said they had found her body.

"You get used to moving on and continuing with your life. But the memories keep coming back," Louk said.

She said trust in Arab fellow citizens has been lost to some extent since October 7. But Louk also emphasised, "I'm still an optimist. I hope we can get out of this somehow."