KATHMANDU, Jan 30: With Hamas beginning to release foreign nationals alongside Israeli hostages as part of the latest ceasefire deal with Israel, there are strong hopes that a Nepali national believed to be in their captivity will soon be freed.
On Thursday, Hamas released eight hostages—three Israeli and five Thai nationals—in Gaza. In response, Israel is expected to release 110 Palestinian security prisoners. This marks the third such release since a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect earlier this month. Hamas had previously released a total of seven Israeli hostages—three on January 19 and four more on January 25.
As part of the latest peace deal, Hamas is set to release 33 hostages, including women, children, older adults and sick or wounded men, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. However, Israel has stated that Hamas has confirmed the deaths of eight hostages set to be released in this phase.
Israeli sources have confirmed that the Nepali national—Bipin Joshi-- along with three Thai and one Tanzanian hostage still remains in Gaza. However, according to a report published by The Times of Israel, two of the Thai citizens and the Tanzanian have been declared dead by Israel.
More Israeli hostages freed and more Palestinian prisoners rele...
Highly-placed government sources told Republica that they expect Joshi’s release as Hamas continues to free hostages. “Hamas has begun releasing foreign nationals alongside Israeli hostages in this phase. We remain hopeful that Bipin Joshi will be included in the next batch of releases,” a source familiar with the matter said.
The Israeli side has reportedly communicated to the Nepal government that they have prioritized securing the release of Joshi along with Israeli nationals. Earlier, Arab sources had confirmed to Israel that Joshi was alive.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to continue releasing the hostages in a phase-wise manner. However, tensions between Israel and Hamas over the chaotic release of hostages in Gaza on Thursday have created uncertainty regarding the timing of the next round of releases.
On October 7, 2023, approximately 3,000 Hamas-led armed militants stormed into Israeli territories, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 Israelis and foreign nationals in a brutal attack that targeted civilians.
Among the victims, 10 Nepali students lost their lives, and four others sustained injuries and are still undergoing treatment. They had reached Israel under the Learn and Earn program in which Nepal sends young agriculture students to Israel for 11 months of agricultural training.
Joshi was among those kidnapped following the Hamas attack. The hope of Joshi’s imminent release comes amid Foreign Minister Dr Arzu Rana Deuba intensifying diplomatic efforts to secure his release.
FM Rana earlier engaged in discussions with her counterparts in Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and other diplomatic missions, urging them to use their influence to secure Joshi’s freedom, following the latest ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
In November 2023, during a weeklong ceasefire, more than 100 hostages were released, including 23 Thai nationals. At that time, the Nepal government faced criticism for not taking stronger diplomatic measures to secure the release of Joshi, who is the only Nepali national currently in captivity of Hamas.
