Who Was Bipin Joshi, Nepalese Student Captured By Hamas, Now Declared Dead

Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, on Monday, released the names of four hostages, who died in their custody, including Nepalese national Bipin Joshi. He was taken captive during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel.

The group said the bodies of the four hostages, Bipin Joshi, Guy Illouz, Yossi Sharabi, and Daniel Peretz, will be handed over to Israeli authorities. Israeli officials have already declared 26 hostages dead, based on forensic evidence and intelligence assessments.

Who Was Bipin Joshi?

1. Bipin Joshi was a 23-year-old Nepalese student of agriculture and an amateur rapper, as per The Wall Street Journal.
2. He came from a remote village in western Nepal.
3. He travelled to Israel under the "Learn and Earn" academic programme. The initiative allowed students from Nepal to gain hands-on experience working on Israeli farms while pursuing agricultural studies.
4. Bipin Joshi arrived in Israel 25 days before the October 7, 2023 attack. He was working at Kibbutz Alumim, an agricultural community in southern Israel. He was tending orange and lemon groves.
5. During the Hamas attack on October 7, Joshi reportedly helped save several people who took shelter at the Kibbutz. He helped others to safety during the attack before being captured by Hamas, The WSJ reported.

Bipin Joshi's Family Pleads For Release

In November 2023, a 33-second video of Joshi surfaced, believed to have been filmed in Gaza. In the video, he identified himself in English, saying, "My name is Bipin Joshi. I am from Nepal. I am 23 years old."

The footage was first obtained by Israeli intelligence and later shared with Bipin Joshi's family. The family decided to make it public later to push for a hostage-release deal.

His sister, Pushpa Joshi, currently based in the US, had been actively campaigning for his release. She said the video was shared to pressure negotiators and pleaded with diplomats not to abandon the hostages' cause.