Nepali Youth Bipin Joshi Confirmed Dead After 738 Days in Captivity

After 738 days of waiting and uncertainty, Nepali youth Bipin Joshi, abducted by Hamas militants in Israel on October 7, 2023, has been confirmed dead.

The confirmation came as Hamas’s Qassam Brigades, its armed wing, announced that the bodies of four captives — including Bipin — would be handed over to Israeli authorities. The other three were identified as Guy Ilouz, Yossi Sharabi, and Daniel Perez.

This news coincides with the recent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which has rekindled hopes for peace after two years of bloodshed.

An End to a Family’s Long Wait

For Bipin’s family in Bhimdatta Municipality, Kanchanpur, the confirmation ends months of desperate hope. His mother, Padma, and sister, Pushpa, had travelled to Israel and the United States to appeal to officials and humanitarian groups for his release.

According to Nepali Ambassador to Israel Dhana Prasad Pandit, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) informed him and Bipin’s family that Hamas would hand over the bodies to Israeli authorities for DNA verification before returning them to their families. The Red Cross is facilitating the process.

“The Israeli side has said they will provide full details of how Bipin was killed,” Ambassador Pandit said.

Lives Lost — and No One Gains

While Hamas has now released all surviving hostages under the truce deal, the deaths of captives like Bipin underscore the tragic futility of war.
Reports suggest that some captives lost their lives while in Hamas’s custody, while others died during Israeli military operations or in IDF custody — revealing that in the chaos of conflict, innocent lives were caught between two warring forces.

The ongoing ceasefire brings a fragile hope that this loss will not be repeated — that both sides might finally choose compassion over retaliation.

Nepal’s Efforts and Global Outreach

Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed deep sorrow, noting that over the past two years the government had “made every possible effort” through diplomatic channels — reaching out to Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, and the United States — to secure Bipin’s safe return.

Bipin was among 17 Nepali students working at the Alumim kibbutz under the Learn and Earn Programme when Hamas attacked. Ten were killed instantly, five were injured, and one escaped unharmed.

Earlier, a short video released by Israeli intelligence had shown Bipin alive after his abduction, giving his family and the Nepali public a brief moment of hope. Sadly, that was the last time he was seen alive.

Hope Amid the Ruins

As Israel and Hamas continue prisoner exchanges under the ceasefire, the deaths of captives — whether in Hamas’s tunnels or IDF’s custody — remind the world that violence spares no side.

For Nepal, and for Bipin’s grieving family, his story stands as a painful plea for peace — that no youth, anywhere, should lose his life to a war he never chose