Hundreds of tearful mourners attend the funeral of Israeli hostage Shani Louk, 22, who was murdered by Hamas - as her emotional father says 'I failed to protect you, forgive me'

Young Israeli hostage Shani Louk, who was kidnapped and killed by Hamas, was finally laid to rest last night as hundreds of mourners paid tribute.

Shani, who was only 22, was one of many kidnapped during the brutal October 7 attacks.

She attempted to flee the horror with her friends but they were surrounded by the terror group. Her body was later paraded through the streets of Gaza.

In her last moments she called her sister to tell her 'everything will be okay', her father told those gathered at her funeral.

Nissam emotionally spoke at the gathering for his child: 'As a father I failed to protect you. Forgive me'.

The German-Israeli was among 364 people killed at the SuperNova Festival which she was attending with her boyfriend.

She became a symbol of the brutal Hamas attack after the world saw the picture of gunmen towing her half-naked body back to Gaza on the back of a pick-up.

Shani Louk, who was only 22, was one of many kidnapped during the brutal October 7 attacks

Hundreds of mourners attended Shani's funeral last night as she was finally laid to rest

Mourners gather near the grave of German-Israeli Shani, laying flowers on the soil

Mourners lower Shani's casket into the grave last night during her funeral in Srigim

Friends and family are seen attending the funeral of the Israeli-German hostage last night

Shani's family invited the public to her funeral, which was held last night

Pictures of last night show huge, brightly coloured floral arrangements surrounded by hundreds of distressed mourners sobbing at the farewell service

Seven months on from the tragedy, Shani was laid to rest in the town of Srigim, with her family inviting the public to attend the farewell.

Shani's mother, Ricarda, said it was a 'small gift' to have her daughter's body brought back home and a 'relief' after being without hope for so long, The Telegraph reported.

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Paying tribute to her daughter, she described her as living an 'intense life with all of her heart'.

Her brother, Amit, who led the parade, said: 'I will never stop missing you, sitting with you, speaking to you, partying with you.'

The President of Israel Isaac Herzoog sent a message to the family expressing his condolences for the girl who 'only wanted to dance'.

Nissam said in an emotional address: 'in your death you became a symbol. You were the light to the dark of that terror', the newspaper reported.

After the eulogies, Shani's grieving friends sang an anti-war song she had written which went: 'The day is finished. It's dark and I want go go home. I don't want a war, I want to go home.'

Pictures of last night show huge, brightly coloured floral arrangements surrounded by hundreds of distressed mourners sobbing at the farewell service.

Family photos of the young woman showed a happy and carefree spirit at the outset of her adult life and friends of her family have said that that is how she should be remembered.

The tattoo artist became a symbol of the brutal October 7 attacks after a photo (not shown) of her mutilated corpse shocked the world

Shani Louk and her boyfriend Orion Hernandez Radoux attended the Nova music festival

Shanni Louk's mother (left) is comforted by a friend during the funeral of her daughter

Parents of Shani Louk mourn at her funeral in Srigim, Israel, on Sunday

Relatives and family are pictured writing on the coffin during the funeral last night

The Israeli Defence forces announced on Friday that they recovered the body of the 22-year-old, as well as the remains of Itzhak Gelerenter, 53, and Amit Buskila, 28.

Nissim Louk said: 'This morning we were informed that soldiers of a commando team were in the area and found bodies and the condition of the body was really good.

'It was in a relatively deep place in a deep tunnel and very cold, so the physical condition is Really good.

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Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ricarda Louk, Shani's mother said upon the discovery: '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.'

A prestigious university was branded a 'disgrace' after it awarded the world's oldest photo journalism prize for a picture of the mutilated and murdered October 7 victim.

The photo of Shani's corpse was the centerpiece of the submission that won photo agency AP the Team Picture Story of the Year category from the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism.

Replying to the uproar that followed, AP issued a statement saying: 'Documenting breaking news events around the world — no matter how horrific — is our job.

'Without AP and other news organizations, the world would not have known what was happening on October 7.'

The IDF said on X on Friday: 'Overnight, our troops recovered their bodies and brought them back home to Israel.

Family and relatives carry the coffin during the funeral on Sunday

The German-Israeli was among 364 people killed at the SuperNova Festival which she was attending with her boyfriend. Flowers are seen laid at her grave yesterday

Mourners carry the flag-covered coffin of Shani Louk during her funeral in Srigim, Israel

Family and friends carry the coffin of Shani during her funeral last night

A mourner lights a candle near Shani's grave yesterday, laden with floral tributes

'We will continue operating to bring all of our hostages home. May their memories be a blessing.'

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also responded to the discovery of the bodies, saying, 'We will return all of our hostages, both the living and the dead.'

The military said the bodies were found overnight, without elaborating, and did not give immediate details on where they were located. Israel has been operating in the Gaza Strip's southern city of Rafah, where it says it has intelligence that hostages are being held.

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and abducted around 250 others in the Oct. 7 attack. Around half of those hostages have since been freed, most in swaps for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire in November.

Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more. The war in Gaza since the attack has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-controlled Gaza health officials.

Netanyahu has vowed to both eliminate Hamas and bring all the hostages back, but he's made little progress. He faces pressure to resign, and the U.S. has threatened to scale back its support over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Israelis are divided into two main camps: those who want the government to put the war on hold and free the hostages, and others who think the hostages are an unfortunate price to pay for eradicating Hamas.

On-and-off negotiations mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt have yielded little.