Hamas has announced the names of four hostages confirmed dead, whose bodies were handed over to the Red Cross. The victims are Bipin Joshi, Guy Illouz, Yossi Sharabi, and Daniel Perez.
According to Nepal’s Ambassador to Israel Dhan Prasad Pandit, Israeli authorities are conducting DNA tests to confirm Bipin’s identity.
“It will take around 24 to 48 hours for the results. Once confirmed, the body will be handed over to his family in Kathmandu.”
It is reported that the Israel Defense Forces relayed the grim news to Bipin’s distraught mother and sister via video link, ending months of agonising uncertainty for the Joshi family.
It is reported that Bipin arrived in Israel just weeks before the Hamas assault, as part of an agricultural “learn and earn” initiative. When Hamas terrorists attacked his kibbutz, he reportedly bravely grabbed a live grenade thrown into a shelter and hurled it away, likely saving lives before he was taken captive.
For months, the Joshi family clung to hope. They later released a video obtained from Israeli intelligence showing Bipin speaking in captivity, likely filmed in November 2023. In the 33-second clip, he introduces himself in English at the apparent request of his captors:
“My name is Bipin Joshi. I am from Nepal. I am 23 years old. I came here for the ‘Learn and Earn’ program. I work on a citrus and lemon farm.”
The video ends with him looking at something off-camera, silent and still. The family described the footage as “an anchor of firm faith” that he was still alive at that time.
But the moment of reckoning came when the IDF informed the Joshi family via video conference that Bipin is no more. It is reported that Bipin’s mother, sister and the Nepali ambassador were present when the news was delivered.
The family had previously shared the video publicly to advocate for his safe release and to highlight the plight of all hostages held by Hamas.
Across Israel, the October 7 assault claimed 1,200 lives, most of them civilians, including women, children and the elderly. Entire families vanished in minutes, and reports emerged of women being raped, mutilated, and filmed by Hamas.
Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, has reported that some hostages were tortured, denied food and medicine, and used as human shields in tunnels beneath Gaza. Dozens have since been found dead, their bodies returned through swaps or recovered in Israeli operations.
Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that the government had pursued all possible diplomatic channels to secure Joshi’s release, engaging with officials from Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, and the US.
Bipin was a Hindu — a minority religious identity in this context — and his story is a stark reminder of the human cost of Hamas’ terrorism. His memory lives in the corridors of diplomatic briefings and the grieving of a broken family.
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