Nepal’s Ambassador to Israel, Dhan Prasad Pandit, told Republica via telephone that the body of Bipin Joshi was en route to Tel Aviv and was expected to arrive by Monday midnight. “We have received information about the body of Bipin handed over to Israeli authorities by Hamas, and it is being taken to Tel Aviv and will arrive here in a few hours,” Pandit told Republica over the phone on Monday evening.

Earlier on Monday, Brigadier General Effie Defrin, chief spokesman for the Israeli military, confirmed that Hamas had returned the bodies of four hostages, including Joshi’s.

Israeli authorities will conduct a DNA test to confirm Joshi’s identity. Only after proper identification will the body be flown back to Nepal. Before repatriation, formal final rites will be carried out by the Israeli government, and the body will be sent home in coordination with the Nepali embassy.

Meanwhile, Joshi’s mother and sister, who had traveled to the United States to raise his case at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, are now preparing to return to Nepal, Pandit confirmed.

The latest news comes amid a wave of emotional developments in the region. As the world watched 20 hostages walk free under the first phase of the proposed Middle East Peace Plan, families rejoiced. However, for the Joshi family and many well-wishers in Nepal, the moment was one of despair.

On Sunday, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) confirmed that Bipin Joshi’s name was not among those released in the Israel–Hamas prisoner exchange. Despite early hopes raised by previously recovered video footage showing Joshi alive shortly after his abduction, his fate remained unclear—until now.

Joshi had been in Israel under the Learn and Earn agricultural training program when he was abducted from the Alumim Kibbutz on October 7, 2023 during Hamas’s surprise attack.

MoFA reported that a virtual meeting was held at 7:30 a.m. An Israeli delegation, including representatives from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister’s Office, Nepal’s ambassador, and Joshi’s family, met on Monday. During this meeting, officials confirmed that Joshi was not among the hostages to be released and, at the time, his status remained unverified.

The Ministry stated that Nepal had made “every possible effort over the past two years at various levels for his safe release” and pledged to continue pursuing updates until all hostages, living or deceased, were accounted for.

According to the IDF, Hamas held 48 hostages in Gaza during the ongoing ceasefire negotiations, including the body of one soldier from a previous conflict. Of these, 20 were confirmed to be alive, while 25 had been determined killed either during the October 7 attack or in captivity. Two hostages, including Bipin Joshi, were listed as “status unknown” until Monday’s confirmation.