Family pleads for the release of a Nepali student abducted by Hamas
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The family of a Nepali man taken captive by the Palestinian militant group Hamas appealed Thursday to his captors for his release, stressing that he has no involvement in the conflict in Gaza.
Bipin Joshi, now 25, was among 17 Nepali students studying agriculture in southern Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack that ignited the war in Gaza.
Joshi had worked hard in a government competition to earn a spot to study in Israel, his 17-year-old sister Pushpa Joshi said Thursday in Kathmandu. He arrived in southern Israel just three weeks before the attack. It was his first time out of Nepal.
'Bipin Joshi is an innocent agriculture student,' Pushpa Joshi said. 'He is a student who has a long life ahead of him, who is just 25 years now.'
Militants killed 10 of the Nepali students in the attack and injured six. Joshi saved multiple lives by tossing a live grenade out of the bomb shelter where they were hiding, his sister said, before he was abducted and taken to Gaza.
His family hasn't had a sign of life from him since Israel obtained security footage from a hospital in Gaza showing Joshi, so they know Joshi was taken alive to Gaza, but have no information about him since then.
Pushpa, who was 15 when her brother was kidnapped, lives with their parents in a town in western Nepal. She travels eight hours each direction on buses to Kathmandu regularly to lobby officials to secure her brother's release. She has met the country's prime minister and president several times.
'He is alive and we believe from the bottom of our hearts that he for sure is going to come back all safe and sound,' Pushpa said. 'We have big hopes that he will be back.'
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack. They are still holding 53 hostages, around 20 them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies, including five over the past week.
In the ensuing conflict, more than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed 'doubts' about whether several hostages are still alive. None of the previously released hostages have seen Bipin Joshi recently during their captivity.
They also are in contact with families of other Nepalis who were killed or injured in the attack, though Joshi is the only Nepali hostage.
Pushpa said her brother is her best friend, and that they would often learn, sing and dance together while their parents were at work.
'In rainy season like now, we used to get wet in the rain and dance,' she said.
He studied diligently to earn the scholarship to study agriculture in Israel, she said. The exchange program at Kibbutz Alumim was close to the Gaza border in a major agricultural area.
Nepalese go to Israel for both education and employment, to learn the country's advanced agricultural techniques. Agriculture is the backbone of Nepal's economy, and the primary source of income for more than 60% of the population.
—-
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
25 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Activists stopped in Libya and Egypt ahead of planned march on Gaza
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Egyptian authorities detained additional activists planning to march to Gaza in protest of restrictions on aid reaching the territory while security forces in eastern Libya blocked a convoy of activists en route to meet them. Demonstrators from 80 countries planned to march to Egypt's border with Gaza to spotlight the deepening humanitarian crises facing Palestinians since Israel began blocking aid trucks from entering the coastal enclave in March. It slightly eased restrictions last month, allowing limited aid in, but experts warn the measures fall far short. The Global March on Gaza was slated to be among the largest demonstrations of its kind in recent years, coinciding with other efforts including a boat carrying activists and aid that was intercepted by Israel's military en route to Gaza earlier this week. Activists detained in Egypt Organizers on Friday said authorities confiscated passports of 40 people planning to march at a checkpoint outside Cairo, where they're being held in the heat. Others are being detained at hotels. They urged officials from the activists' home countries to push Egypt to release their citizens. Friday's detentions come after hundreds arriving in Cairo were earlier detained and deported to their home countries in Europe and North Africa. Before authorities confiscated their passports, the activists said they planned to gather at a campsite on the road to the Sinai to prepare for Sunday's march. They said authorities had not yet granted them authorization to travel through the Sinai, which Egypt considers a highly sensitive area. 'We continue to urge the Egyptian government to permit this peaceful march, which aligns with Egypt's own stated commitment to restoring stability at its border and addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza,' the activists said in a statement. Hicham El-Ghaoui, one of the group's spokespeople, said they would refrain from demonstrating until receiving clarity on whether Egypt will authorize their protest. The planned demonstrations cast an uncomfortable spotlight on Egypt, one of the Arab countries that has cracked down on pro-Palestinian activists even as it publicly condemns aid restrictions and calls for an end to the war. The government, a major recipient of U.S. military aid that maintains ties with Israel, has arrested and charged 186 activists with threatening state security since the war began, according to a June tally by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. Many of them said they were protesting peacefully and collecting donations for Gaza. Still, the severity of the crackdown surprised European activists. Antonietta Chiodo, who traveled to Cairo from Italy, said those awaiting further instruction had been detained, interrogated, treated harshly by Egyptian authorities or deported. Alexis Deswaef, a Belgian human rights lawyer, said he woke up on Friday to dozens of security vehicles packed with uniformed officers surrounding Talat Harb Square, where he and other activists had found hotels. Members of his group snuck out of the lobby as security entered, holding up a guidebook and asking an officer for assistance booking taxis to the Pyramids of Giza, where they've been since. 'I am so surprised to see the Egyptians doing the dirty work of Israel,' he said from the Pyramids. He hoped there would be too many activists at the new meeting point outside Cairo for Egyptian authorities to arrest en masse. In a divided Libya, Egypt-backed authorities stop a convoy Meanwhile, an aid convoy traveling overland from Algeria picked up new participants along the route in Tunisia and Libya yet was stopped in the city of Sirte, about 940 kilometers (585 miles) from the Libya-Egypt border. Organizers of the overland convoy said late Thursday night that they had been stopped by authorities governing eastern Libya, which has for years been divided between dueling factions . The convoy was allowed to cross from Tunisia to Libya but halted near the front line where territory shifts to a rival administration whose backers include Egypt. The Benghazi-based government in a statement urged activists to 'engage in proper coordination with the official Libyan authorities through legal and diplomatic channels to ensure the safety of all participants and uphold the principles of solidarity with the Palestinian people.' It said they should return to their home countries and cited Egypt's public statements that marchers had not been granted authorization. Organizers leading the overland convoy said authorities had allowed them to camp in Sirte and await further approval. Their group, which includes thousands of participants, had already traversed parts of Algeria, Tunisia and the western Libyan cities of Tripoli and Misrata. Jawaher Shana, one of the convoy's Tunisia-based organizers, said the convoy would eventually continue. 'We are peaceful civilians who are known in our countries,' she told a crowd at Sirte Gate. The efforts — the activist flotilla, the overland convoy and the planned march — come as international outcry grows over conditions in Gaza. As part of a campaign to pressure Hamas to disarm and release hostages, Israel has continued to pummel the territory with airstrikes while limiting the flow of trucks carrying food, water and medication that can enter. The U.N. has said the vast majority of the population relies on humanitarian aid to survive and experts have warned the coastal enclave will likely fall into famine if Israel doesn't lift its blockade and stop its military campaign. Over U.N. objections, a U.S.-backed group has taken control of the limited aid entering Gaza. But as desperate Palestinians crowd its distribution sites, chaos has erupted and almost 200 people have been killed near aid sites. Nearly half a million Palestinians are on the brink of possible starvation , and 1 million others can barely get enough food, according to findings by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority. Israel has rejected the findings, saying the IPC's previous forecasts had proven unfounded. __ McNeil reported from Barcelona. Associated Press journalist Youssef Murad in Tripoli, Libya, contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
San Francisco Chronicle
25 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Alert: Republicans are less enthusiastic about Musk after his feud with Trump, a new AP-NORC poll finds
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are less enthusiastic about Musk after his feud with Trump, a new AP-NORC poll finds.
Business Insider
28 minutes ago
- Business Insider
United and Delta passengers faced flights to nowhere as Israeli strikes on Iran led to dozens of cancellations and diversions
Dozens of flights around Asia and the Middle East were diverted or canceled on Friday after Israel launched a series of military strikes against Iran's nuclear infrastructure. The Israeli military struck targets in Iran early on Friday, marking a significant escalation, which has drawn a retaliation campaign from the country. Iran sent 100 drones to Israel following the attacks, and a spokesperson for its armed forces warned Israel would pay a "heavy price" for the strikes. The strikes forced thousands of passengers to change of plans after airspace over Iran, Israel, and Iraq was closed, and airlines avoided flying anywhere near the area. According to Flightradar24, flights within Iranian airspace either avoided the capital city of Tehran, where Iran's nuclear facilities are located, and continued their transit or diverted out of the country. Later, flights planned to pass through Iran were held or diverted. Flights also diverted from Israel's main airport, Ben Gurion in the city of Tel Aviv, per the flight tracking platform. Flights operated by both United and Delta from New York to Tel Aviv late Thursday turned around over the Atlantic after the strikes began, Flightradar data showed. Delta and United did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. Air India announced in a post on X that 16 flights were diverted or returned to their origin airports at the time of the strikes, citing "the emerging situation in Iran, the subsequent closure of its airspace and in view of the safety of our passengers." The airline said it was trying to minimize customers' inconvenience by providing accommodation, offering refunds, complimentary rescheduling, or alternative arrangements. Emirates and Qatar Airways both canceled and diverted flights. "Qatar Airways has temporarily cancelled flights to Iran and Iraq due to current situation in the region," it wrote in a post on X. A video posted on FlightRadar's social media showed Iranian and Iraqi airspace clearing out in the early hours of Friday morning. 9-second video of the clearing of Iranian and Iraqi airspace. — Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) June 13, 2025 Shares in several airlines dipped on Friday, driven by a combination of the strikes and the fallout from Thursday's Air India Boeing 787 crash. International Airlines Group, which owns British Airways, Vueling, and Iberia, declined 4%. Air France-KLM is down nearly 4%.
