The body of Bipin Joshi, a Nepalese student kidnapped by Hamas more than two years ago, has been returned to Israel, according to reports.

The news casts a sombre shadow over the celebrations following the release of 20 living hostages as part of a Gaza ceasefire deal.

Nepal’s Ambassador to Israel, Dhan Prasad Pandit, confirmed to Nepali media outlet Republica that Joshi’s remains were handed over to Israeli authorities late Monday night.

“The body of Bipin Joshi was handed over to Israeli authorities by Hamas and is being taken to Tel Aviv,” he said.

Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin also confirmed that Hamas returned the bodies of four hostages, including Joshi’s. DNA testing will be conducted before his remains are repatriated to Nepal, with final rites expected to be performed in Israel in coordination with the Nepali embassy.

Joshi, 22 at the time of his abduction, had travelled from Nepal in September 2023 to join 16 other students for a farm training program at Kibbutz Alumim, near the Gaza border.

The initiative aimed to provide Nepali students with hands-on experience in Israeli agricultural practices.

His journey turned tragic on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel. As the students took shelter in a bomb bunker, grenades were thrown inside. Joshi grabbed one live grenade and hurled it out before it exploded, saving several lives, according to Times of Israel. He was injured and subsequently captured by Hamas gunmen and taken into Gaza. Video footage released by the Israeli military later appeared to show him being dragged into Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, the last known sighting of him alive.

Bipin Joshi. (Reuters)

Over the next two years, Joshi’s mother and younger sister Pushpa travelled multiple times to Kathmandu, Israel, and the United States to lobby for his release, becoming symbols of quiet resilience. He would have turned 25 on October 26.

Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades released the names of four deceased hostages on Monday: Bipin Joshi, Guy Illouz, Yossi Sharabi, and Daniel Peretz. Their return was part of a broader ceasefire deal that also saw 20 living hostages released to the Red Cross and brought to Israel.

Women react standing next to a poster with the picture of a hostage, Nepalese student Bipin Joshi, at "Hostages Square" on the day Hamas releases Israeli hostages, who have been held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, as part of a prisoner-hostage swap and a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 13, 2025. (Reuters)

According to PTI, Joshi had been the only foreign student still believed to be alive in captivity. Twenty-six hostages have now been formally declared dead by Israeli authorities based on forensics and intelligence.

Joshi’s courage has been widely remembered in both Nepal and Israel. Ten of the 17 Nepali students in his program were killed that day, and his family has kept his story alive through lobbying, protests at Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, and meetings with Israeli officials, including President Isaac Herzog in August. Just last week, they released footage of Joshi filmed under duress in captivity in November 2023, reaffirming his enduring legacy as a hero.