Foreign Minister NP Saud has said that the government has requested all agencies in Israel including the Israeli government, international organizations and diplomatic missions there to search for Bipin Joshi, who has been missing since the attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on October 7.
Talking to journalists at his residence in Bhainsepati on Sunday, Minister Saud said that the government has asked international organizations and diplomatic missions in Israel to find out the status of Joshi.
Nepali students told him in Israel that Joshi could be held hostage by Hamas, Minister Saud said. “It is said that the attackers had carried out repeated attacks within a short time when Nepali students including Bipin were hiding in a bunker,” he added.
Minister Saud had flown to Israel on Saturday to bring back Nepali students trapped there. He had briefed representatives of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and agencies concerned about Joshi then.
According to Minister Saud, Nepali students told him that Joshi had thrown a grenade from Hamas outside before it could explode.
“Bipin is said to have been kidnapped along with some students from Thailand after that,” he said, adding that Joshi’s whereabouts have been unknown since then.
“We have requested the Israel government to find out his status. The Israeli government has also expressed commitment to find out his status,” Minister Saud said.
