Nepali family hopes for hostage’s return from Gaza to end ‘excruciating’ wait
For nearly 16 months, Mahanand Joshi has been desperately seeking answers to a question that has consumed his family: “Where is Bipin Joshi?”
The Joshi family has been following the news closely. The release by Hamas of eight hostages, including five Thai nationals and three Israelis, from their captive location in Gaza on January 30 has fuelled hopes that Bipin would be freed in the next round. About 33 hostages, including women, children, men, and the sick were set to be released in the first round of the Gaza ceasefire deal, which went into effect on January 19, in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Bipin and his friends from Nepal arrived in southern Israel’s Kibbutz Alumim just three weeks before the October 7 attack under the country’s “Learn and Earn” 11-month programme, which allows participants to take college classes for a day while spending five days on the farms to gain practical experience.