Two years and a week after being captured by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Nepali student Bipin Joshi is no longer alive, it was confirmed on Monday. The bodies of 4 people including him were handed over to Israel on Monday night through the International Red Cross. Hamas claimed that Bipin was killed during an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. But the date of his death has not been revealed.

During the attack on Israel, on 7 October 2023, Bipin was taken hostage from Kibbutz Alumim in Seidot Negev, Israel's southern border with Gaza Strip. In that sequence, 251 people including Bipin were taken hostage. 

According to the first phase of the US peace plan agreed in Egypt to end the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, Hamas was given an ultimatum to hand over the bodies of 20 live hostages and 26 dead hostages by Monday. The Israeli government also officially informed that Bipin was not alive at 7:30 local time on Monday morning.

At 7:30 in the morning in Israel, I received a call from the Israeli army. "There was a group video call between me, Bipin's brother Kishore, sister Pushpa and a representative of the Israeli army," Nepali Ambassador to Israel Dhanprasad Pandit told Kantipur. Israel informed that the body was found only in the evening. 

Hamas has released 20 hostages it had since 8 am local time on Monday, in which 7 were handed over the first time and 13 were handed over the second time. According to the agreement, Israel has also released 250 people who were sentenced to life and 1700 prisoners held in the Gaza Strip. 

After that, Hamas placed Israeli citizens Guy Iloz, Yossi Sharabi and Daniel Peretz in the first team to send the bodies of the dead along with Vipin. Hamas has not announced the time frame for sending the bodies of the remaining 22 dead hostages by Monday night. The Israeli army said that the DNA of the deceased's body will be tested and handed over to the family. Vipin's mother Padma's DNA has already been taken. 

The Hostage and Missing Forum called the move by Hamas "painful but important". "These families have finally learned the fate of their loved ones, and the truth is very harsh," the group said in a statement.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Government of Nepal has made all possible efforts at various levels during the period of 2 years for the safe release of Bipin. However, Nepal's weak diplomacy could not save Bipin. Of the 31 Thai citizens who were held hostage with him, 29 were rescued by the Thai government during the first and second ceasefires. Two Thai nationals were also killed in Gaza. Their bodies have already been identified by the family. 

Bipin was the only foreign national among the remaining 48 hostages. At the time of the hostage taking, there were 121 foreign nationals. Most of them Israeli citizens had dual citizenship. Just one month before the attack by Hamas, 49 eighth semester students of the Faculty of Agriculture of Far West University, including Bipin, went to the Seidot Negev region for an 11-month "Earn and Learn Program" for experiential learning. 

Among them, 10 Nepalis were killed in an attack by Hamas on the same day of the incident. In which Narayan Prasad Neupane of Ghodaghodi-4, Ganesh Kumar Nepali of Jayprithvi-6 Bajhang, Ashish Chaudhary of Baunia-3 Kailali, Dipeshraj Bista of Lekam-5 Darchala, Anand Sah of Saphi-6 Dhanusha, Rajesh Kumar Swarnakar of Madhuvan-1 Sunsari, Rajan Phulra of Pachanali-3 Doti, Lamikhal-8 Padam Thapa of Doti, Sharda-3 Salyan. Bhandari and Malikarjan-4 are Lokendrasingh Dhami of Darchala. 

Those who survived being shot are Vidhan Sejwal of Sharda-2 Salyan, Praveen Dangi of Dangisharan-3 Dang, Dhan Bahadur Chaudhary of Tikapur-9 Kailali and Himanchal Kattel of Gorkha-8 Gorkha.

It was Vipin who requested the team of Luis Rizal of Bardia, who worked in another agricultural farm (kibbutz) nearby, to send an ambulance to rescue his friends who were injured by grenades and bullets. He rescued his comrades by picking up a grenade thrown by Hamas and throwing it outside the bunker. "After that, my friends who survived were divided into two bunkers, I was in one bunker along with Bipin," Himanchal Kattel of Gorkha, who survived three bullet wounds in his body, told Kantipur, "Later, Hamas fighters entered the hiding bunker and opened fire on us indiscriminately." Bipin and the three Thai nationals were not hit. After the Thais raised their hands, they saw the fighters take them away.'

In the CCTV footage of Al-Sifa Hospital in Gaza City, released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), at 10:53 am local time, three armed men were seen taking Bipin into the hospital with his head covered. “We were in the second bunker. Vipin was sitting by the door. The gunmen dragged him out," Pramod KC of Salyan, who survived the attack by Hamas, told Kantipur. "When Hamas took him away, Bipin was wearing a blue vest with a kattu, which can be seen in the video." Father Mahanand told Kantipur that he had not received any information about Bipin since then.

Bipin's mother Padma and sister Pushpa are now in America. They reached the US on October 8 to take initiative for Bipin's release. In America, they have met with various officials from the Secretary General of the United Nations. Sister Pushpa and mother Padma arrived in Israel in the last week of July before leaving for America. There they met Israeli President, Prime Minister and also participated in the rally organized for the release of Bipin. Pushpa asked for the safe release of Dai in the rally.

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