If the cease-fire is fully implemented, the first phase will require the release of all hostages held by Hamas.
What you should know
Bipin Joshi from Kanchanpur, who was held hostage in Gaza Strip, is likely to be released after Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas accepted the US ceasefire proposal.
US President Donald Trump has proposed a 20-point ceasefire plan to end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
If the ceasefire is fully implemented, the first step would be to release all hostages held by Hamas. Israel and Hamas have informally agreed to Trump's proposal, increasing the possibility of the release of 48 people, including Joshi.
Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas representatives are taking place in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, facilitated by mediators, to formally agree to a ceasefire on Monday. Israel's prisoner affairs representative Gal Hirsch held a preparatory meeting on Sunday morning with the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Israel, Julian Larison, on the issue of exchanging hostages and prisoners.
He informed about this by writing in X. He is a member of the Israeli negotiating team participating in the ongoing indirect talks to end the war in Gaza and release the hostages. The talks in Egypt are expected to set a deadline for preparations needed to begin the hostage-prisoner exchange process. According to Israel, only 20 of the 48 people held by Hamas are believed to be alive. According to the Nepali Embassy in Israel, no information about Joshi's latest condition has been made public.
Bipin, who came to Israel to study agriculture under the 'Learn and Earn' program, was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023 from Alumim Kibbutz. On that day, 10 Nepali students were killed in an attack by Hamas. A video of Bipin being taken to the hospital with his head covered while being taken hostage by Hamas was released. Since then, no information about him has been made public. The Nepal government has been taking initiatives for his release.
Bipin's mother and sister Pushpa even reached the United Nations headquarters in New York to press for his release. They had met the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and requested him to initiate for the early release of Bipin. Before that they also reached Israel. In Israel, they met with President Isaac Herzog and Parliament Speaker Amir Ohona. Likewise, they addressed a meeting held at the 'Hostage Square' in Tel Awazi and requested an immediate end to the war for the release of all the hostages including Bipin.
According to Trump's proposed ceasefire plan, Israel is expected to release 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and more than 1,700 prisoners captured in the Gaza Strip after October 7, 2023. Similarly, Hamas has to release the hostages immediately. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address on Saturday that he hoped the hostages would be freed within days. In a meeting on Sunday with members of the Gvura Forum, a group representing families of Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza war, he said the next phase of the ceasefire would not begin until all hostages were freed, according to local media.
"We will not take any further steps until the last prisoner (living and dead) is brought to Israeli soil," The Israel Times quoted Prime Minister Netanyahu as saying, "If Hamas does not release the prisoners within the deadline set by President Trump, Israel will resume military operations in Gaza with the full support of all countries concerned." Hamas is very willing to implement the exchange, he told AFP. "Hamas is very willing to end the war and start the prisoner exchange process immediately after the situation is favorable on the field," said the official, "Hamas is ready if Israel is really willing to reach an agreement." "Hamas must move quickly, or all options will be exhausted." Let's get this done quickly, quickly," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
