Nepalese Hindu student who taken hostage by Hamas after October 7 attack, confirmed dead
Before being repatriated to Nepal, the remains will undergo DNA testing, with final rites to be held in Israel in coordination with the Nepali embassy.
PTC News Desk: As the Donald Trump-led Middle East peace summit advanced with a landmark Gaza peace deal — highlighted by Hamas releasing 20 live hostages — a tragic development overshadowed the historic progress. The body of Bipin Joshi, a Nepalese Hindu student abducted by Hamas over two years ago, was returned to Israel.
Nepal’s Ambassador to Israel, Dhan Prasad Pandit, told Nepali media outlet Republica that Joshi’s remains were being transported to Tel Aviv late Monday night.
“Hamas has handed over Bipin Joshi’s body to Israeli authorities, and it is now on its way to Tel Aviv,” Pandit confirmed.
Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin also stated that the bodies of four hostages, including Joshi’s, had been returned by Hamas.
Before being repatriated to Nepal, the remains will undergo DNA testing, with final rites to be held in Israel in coordination with the Nepali embassy.
Joshi’s story began in September 2023, when he and 16 fellow students from Nepal traveled to Israel for an agricultural training and work program at Kibbutz Alumim near the Gaza border. The initiative was meant to offer practical experience in modern Israeli farming — a dream opportunity for the young participants.
That dream turned into tragedy on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a major assault on southern Israel. As sirens wailed, the students sought safety in a bomb shelter. Gunfire and explosions soon followed. Hamas attackers threw grenades into the shelter — one detonated, injuring several — but Joshi heroically grabbed the second grenade and hurled it out before it exploded, saving his classmates.
Moments later, he was captured by Hamas fighters and taken into Gaza. In the days that followed, footage released by the Israeli military appeared to show him being dragged into Gaza’s Shifa Hospital — his last known sighting alive. His family continued to hold out hope, with his mother and sister even traveling to Israel and the U.S. to campaign for his release.
Bipin Joshi would have celebrated his 25th birthday on October 26.