Bipin Joshi, 23: Nepali farming student rapped about his experiences

Bipin Joshi, 23, an agricultural student from Mahendranagar in southwestern Nepal, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Alumim on October 7 and slain in captivity.

Bipin was taken alive from the kibbutz while 10 of his compatriots were murdered in the attack. When the terrorists entered their bomb shelter that morning, they shot and killed two of the students. They then threw two grenades into the shelter. Bipin tossed one of the grenades away, but the other exploded, injuring several people in the room.

Dhan Bahadur Chaudhary, who was wounded but survived the attack, told BBC Nepali that “I may not have survived if both grenades had exploded. Bipin showed courage and threw the grenade out.”

Bipin sent messages during the attack to his cousin in English, writing, “If something happens to me, you have to take care of my family. Be strong and always see the future.”

Ultimately he and a Thai worker, Phonsawan Pinakalo, were taken captive by the Hamas gunmen from Alumim and brought to Gaza. They were both seen later that day being brought by gunmen into Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, in CCTV footage later released by the IDF. Phonsawan was freed during the ceasefire in November 2023.

In early October 2025, Bipin’s family released a propaganda video of him filmed in Gaza, not long after he was kidnapped. It was the first and only sign of life seen of him since he was taken captive.

Bipin’s death was not officially confirmed until his body was finally returned to Israel on October 13, 2025, but Israeli authorities had for many months expressed grave concerns about his fate.

After his remains were identified, the IDF said that initial findings indicated that he had likely been murdered in captivity in the first months of the war. Nepalese media reported that his family was informed that he had been killed by a gunshot wound to the head.

His remains were flown home to Nepal on October 19, and his funeral and cremation ceremony was held on October 21. He is survived by his parents, Padma and Mahananda, and his younger sister, Pushpa.

Bipin grew up in a poor family in southwestern Nepal, near the Indian border – the oldest in his family and the son of two teachers.

Dreaming of a better future, he attended the Far Western University School of Agriculture in Tikapur, Nepal, hoping to one day start his own commercial banana or walnut plantation, according to The Wall Street Journal.

He arrived in Israel just a few weeks before he was kidnapped, as part of a yearlong “Learn and Earn” program run through a branch of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, where Nepali students study and work in Israeli agriculture.

He had hoped to be placed somewhere in central Israel, but on September 14, 2023, he arrived at Kibbutz Alumim. There he worked in the orange and pomelo orchards, and eagerly awaited the start of the university classes a month later that were meant to be part of their program.

His mother told WSJ that the two spoke every day and that Bipin “kept a diary, sketching rap lyrics and poems in blue ballpoint pen. He rapped about the hardships of Nepali farmers in his politically conscious song — ‘Prashna,’ meaning ‘Question.’”

In a statement provided by his family after his death was confirmed, they said that “Bipin left us with excitement, setting out for a yearlong learning experience in Israel. We never imagined that the hug we gave him that day would be the last.”

His family added: “Before you were taken, you managed to send a message to your cousin, asking him to be strong and always look toward the future. It is hard to imagine a future without you, Bipin. Every flower in the garden we planted for you will remind us of you — every orchard, every field. You are part of the landscape of Nepal, and now also part of the landscape of the Land of Israel.”

His friend and former classmate and colleague Dhan Bahadur Chaudhary told BBC Nepali that Bipin “loved playing football and basketball. We would chat for hours about our goals and dreams. He wanted to get his body in good shape and to buy a new mobile phone. We even recorded a song about friendship with my phone. He also talked about showcasing himself in a music video.”

Dhan noted that “I returned to Nepal and I am studying at the moment. But Bipin’s dreams remained unfulfilled.”

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