‘A son of Nepal’: Body of Bipin Joshi, slain in Gaza captivity, finally arrives home
'Bipin’s courage and bravery are a matter of pride for every Nepali,' prime minister says on airport tarmac, two years after agricultural student was kidnapped from border kibbutz
KATHMANDU, Nepal — The body of slain Nepalese hostage Bipin Joshi arrived in Kathmandu on Monday after being repatriated, authorities said.
Joshi’s remains departed from Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday and were flown to Tribhuvan International Airport. Nepal’s Foreign Ministry said Joshi’s body would be taken to his hometown of Bhimdattanagar later Monday evening.
“The Nepal government made various attempts at different levels, to the extent possible, for Joshi’s release while he was in captivity,” the ministry said in a statement.
Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushila Karki paid tribute to Joshi during a ceremony at Kathmandu’s airport, where she draped the national flag over his coffin.
“Bipin’s courage and bravery are a matter of pride for every Nepali,” Karki said. “He is a son of Nepal, a son of every mother. We will never forget him,” she added. “He lives in our hearts.”
Joshi, a 23-year-old agricultural student, deflected a grenade during the attack on October 7, 2023, and saved the lives of a number of people before he was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Alumim on October 7, 2023, and killed in captivity in Gaza.
He came to Israel as part of an international agricultural training program under Mashav, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, which operates under the Foreign Ministry.
“We waited for two years, and really hoped he would come home — but in vain,” his cousin Kishor Joshi told AFP.
On Sunday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry held a farewell ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport for Joshi before the flight to Nepal took off.
Residents of Kibbutz Alumim and the Sdot Hanegev Regional Council, Nepalese diplomats, Eynat Shlein, deputy director-general of the Foreign Ministry and the head of Mashav, and other senior Foreign Ministry officials attended the airport ceremony.
Gal Hirsch, the government’s point man on hostages, lit a memorial candle for Joshi at the ceremony, and praised the student for his heroic actions on October 7.
“I am sorry. It shouldn’t have ended this way,” Hirsch said.
“Bipin came to Israel to learn, and now we are sending him home, with pain and sadness,” Hirsch added. “A skilled student, a great person, and especially a hero. He fought and struggled, saved lives during the attack, survived, but in the end was murdered in captivity.”
Earlier this month, Joshi’s family published a video filmed in Hamas tunnels shortly after October 7 in which Joshi could be seen speaking to the camera. No sign of life was received from Joshi since that video.
In May, Israel said his fate was unknown, but the family had held out hope that he was still alive until his body was returned last week as part of a ceasefire-hostage release deal reached between Israel and Hamas.
Nava Freiberg contributed to this report.