KATHMANDU, Oct 18: After nearly two years of waiting and uncertainty, the family of Bipin Joshi, the Nepali student abducted by Hamas from southern Israel, will finally be able to perform his final rites.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has announced that a formal ceremony will be held at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday before sending his body to Nepal.
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Representatives of the Learn and Earn program, where Joshi was enrolled in an agricultural training program, said his memory would “always remain in their hearts,” adding that his “courage, hard work, and spirit will never be forgotten.”
Earlier on October 14, Israeli authorities confirmed through DNA testing that the body handed over by Hamas was of Joshi’s. The DNA testing also confirmed that Joshi was killed toward the end of 2023.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said memorial ceremonies will be held both in Israel and Nepal to honor Joshi. Israel has also decided to grant his family the same rights and care provided to Israeli citizens killed in acts of terrorism.
Joshi, one of the many Nepali students in Israel under the Learn and Earn program, was abducted from the Alumim Kibbutz on October 7, 2023, during Hamas’s surprise attack on southern Israel. His fate remained unconfirmed until Israeli authorities formally identified his remains nearly two years later.
The confirmation brings closure to a long and painful wait for Joshi’s family and the Nepali public, who had continued to hope for his safe return. His body will arrive in Kathmandu following Sunday’s ceremony in Tel Aviv, where diplomats, Israeli officials, and representatives from the Nepali community will pay their respects.
