ByJOANIE MARGULIES
Updated:

The body of slain Nepalese hostage Bipin Joshi was sent back to his home country for burial after a moving memorial ceremony at Ben-Gurion Airport on Sunday morning.

Joshi, believed to be 23 at the time of his death, and kidnapped from Kibbutz Alumim on October 7, was lauded as a hero by survivors whom he protected while under attack. Joshi had come to Israel for a “Learn and Earn” program, providing him with agricultural work and education opportunities to be able to save money and return home with his acquired expertise.

Joshi was believed to be alive throughout the war, with footage noting he was alive in November 2023. Just days before the agreement was announced to bring hostages home, his family authorized the publication of the video in a push for his release.

Among those attending the ceremony were Gal Hirsch, the government coordinator for prisoners and missing persons, representatives from the Foreign Ministry and the Nepalese Embassy, and members of Kibbutz Alumim, where Joshi lived and worked.

“It wasn’t supposed to end like this. You are one of us; every Israeli knows your name and your story, and today you are part of Israeli memory,” Hirsch said.

“Each of us has a soul, a light meant to illuminate the world around us,” said Tamir Idan, head of the Sdot Negev Regional Council, at the ceremony. “Bipin was exactly that light – a young man who came from far away to study, work, and build a better future. He did not get to return home, but the light he brought with him will continue to shine here, in our land and in our hearts.”
A video has obtained by Israeli intelligence units of Nepali captive Bipin Joshi and will be released Wednesday evening, according to an announcement from the Hostage Family Forum earlier Wednesday.
A video has obtained by Israeli intelligence units of Nepali captive Bipin Joshi and will be released Wednesday evening, according to an announcement from the Hostage Family Forum earlier Wednesday. (credit: SCREENSHOT/VIA SECTION 24A OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT)

When Hamas terrorists infiltrated the kibbutz on October 7, Joshi hid with friends inside a shelter. Survivors tell how he threw back a grenade that had been tossed inside, saving lives. A second grenade left him and his friends unconscious, and he was then kidnapped to Gaza along with several Thai agricultural workers.

'Take care of the family'

Before being taken, Joshi managed to send a final message to his cousin: “If something happens to me, take care of the family. Be strong and always look to the future.”

For months, his family in Nepal held onto hope. “We saw our son alive, healthy, and speaking to the camera,” the family said after seeing the video showing he was alive. “We believed we would see him smile again and come home.”

Last week, Israeli authorities informed the family that Bipin had been murdered while in captivity.

“With great pain, we received the worst news of all,” the family said in a statement.

“Our beloved Bipin – our son, our brother, our joy – was murdered in Hamas captivity. It is impossible to describe the void left behind. He came to Israel full of dreams for the future. We never imagined that hug at the airport would be our last.”