The family of Bipin Joshi, the Nepalese agricultural student taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and killed in captivity in Gaza, expressed grief and sorrow in a statement on Wednesday, two days after his body was brought back to Israel.
“With immense pain, we received the news of the worst of all,” the Joshis wrote.
“Our dear son, Bipin — brother and soulmate to our daughter Pushpa — was murdered in Hamas captivity. The ground was pulled out from under our feet. It is hard to put into words the void left without him, a void that opened two years ago and has deepened into an immense abyss,” the family added.
“Bipin left us full of excitement, setting out for a year of study in Israel. We never imagined that the hug we gave him then would be our last.”
The Joshis thanked US President Donald Trump and the US, Israeli and Nepalese governments, along with the people of Israel and IDF soldiers, for fighting for their son and brother, and helping bring him home and “close the circle.”
The family was in the US last week and 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.
“Today we can say it loud and clear: Bipin, you are a hero!” wrote the family, which comes from a remote village in western Nepal.
The statement described how Joshi pushed a grenade tossed by Hamas terrorists away from the entrance of the shelter in Kibbutz Alumim, where he and other agricultural workers were hiding on October 7, 2023. He remained in the room to help people who had been wounded by another grenade before he was abducted.
Joshi had only arrived at the kibbutz several weeks before Hamas launched its onslaught on southern Israel, killing 10 Nepali students among the 1,200 slain and taking 251 people captive, including Joshi and a number of other foreigners, mostly Thai laborers.
His body was among four deceased hostages returned to Israel on Monday as part of a ceasefire deal pushed by Trump that halted the war, which included the release of the final 20 living hostages. After Joshi’s remains were identified, Israel informed his family on Tuesday.
“We were so afraid that they would know you were a hero, that they would harm you — we only prayed you would survive,” his family wrote on Wednesday. “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.”
Nepalese Prime Minister Sushila Karki posted a message on X expressing a heartfelt tribute to Joshi and her deep condolences to the grieving family and relatives.
“I am stunned by the news confirming the tragic death of Bipin Joshi amidst two years of unwavering hope and prayers,” Karki wrote. “This heartbreaking news has caused us profound pain.”
Joshi, 23, arrived in Israel in September 2023 as a student on the Learn and Earn program, working and studying at Kibbutz Alumim.
There were 16 other Nepalis also staying at the kibbutz. Ten were killed, five were injured and one escaped unharmed.
In August, Joshi’s mother and sister visited Israel for the first time since the October 7 attack as part of their campaign to see him returned.