The remains of Bipin Joshi, a Nepalese Hindu student whose courage saved his classmates during Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, has been returned to Israel more than two years after he was abducted.
Joshi, who was 22 at the time of the incident, had come from Nepal to Kibbutz Alumim, which is close to the Gaza border, for a farm training program.
He was thought to be the only Hindu and non-Israeli hostage still alive in Gaza. Dhan Prasad Pandit, Nepal's ambassador to Israel, told Republica that Hamas turned over his remains to Israeli authorities late Monday night. "Hamas turned over Bipin Joshi's body to Israeli authorities, and it is currently being transported to Tel Aviv," Pandit stated.

Taken hostage after saving lives
Joshi's voyage to Israel started in September 2023 when he and 16 other students joined Kibbutz Alumim, a hamlet near the Gaza border, for an agricultural study and labour program. The program provided practical instruction in Israeli agricultural methods to Nepali students.That dream became a nightmare on the morning of October 7. The students hid in a bomb bunker as Hamas terrorists launched a surprise attack.

Joshi saved numerous lives when he caught one live grenade that was thrown inside and threw it out before it exploded, according to the Times of Israel. After being wounded in the assault, he was transported into Gaza by Hamas fighters.

The last recorded glimpse of Joshi alive was in the days that followed, when Israeli military surveillance footage seemed to show him being hauled into Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

His mother and younger sister, Pushpa, became a symbol of quiet tenacity by travelling to Kathmandu, Israel, and the US several times to advocate for his release. On October 26, Joshi would have turned 25.