Body of Nepali student Bipin Joshi handed over to Israel

Dhangadhi: The body of Nepali student Bipin Joshi, who was held captive by Hamas, was handed over to Israel on Monday.

According to a report by the international news agency BBC, citing Hamas sources, Joshi’s name was among the four bodies handed over to Israel. On Monday, Hamas released 20 surviving Israeli hostages and transferred them to the Israeli government through the International Red Cross.

Hamas had previously stated that the bodies of the remaining 28 captives would be handed over later. The BBC reported that along with Nepali national Bipin Joshi, Hamas handed over the bodies of Guy Ilouz, Yassi Sarabi, and Daniel Pirez.

Bipin Joshi, 23, was taken captive after the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Alumim in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. He had arrived in Israel about a month earlier under the Learn and Earn agriculture study program. Earlier, Nepal’s Ambassador to Israel, Dhan Prasad Pandit, informed that both Israeli security agencies and Joshi’s family members had found no evidence suggesting that he was alive.

A total of 49 Nepali students, including Bipin, had reached Israel in the last week of Bhadra 2080. Ten Nepali students were killed, and six were injured in the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas. Bipin was seen in a video being taken captive while trying to save an injured friend.

Born in 2057 BS in the then Bijaypur VDC (now Purchaudi Municipality-10) of Baitadi, Bipin was the only son of his parents, Mahananda and Padma Joshi.

Following two years of war between Israel and Hamas, 20 of the 48 hostages held by Hamas were released on Monday. The hostages were handed over to the International Red Cross in two phases and later received by the Israeli government, which provided them with necessary medical care.

US President Donald Trump, who played a key role in brokering the ceasefire, personally visited Israel and met with the families of the hostages. His efforts are expected to help advance peace in the Middle East.