Israeli intelligence releases new video of Nepali held in Gaza

The Israeli Hostages Families Forum said in a statement on Wednesday that Israeli intelligence has obtained a new video of the Nepali captive Bibin Joshi, who was taken from the kibbutz “علوميم” on October 7, 2023, and that it will be released this evening.

Joshi’s family said in a statement: “This evidence of life found in Gaza gives us firm belief that he is still alive.”

Joshi had arrived in Israel just three weeks before the October 7 attack to take part in an agricultural training program, and was captured from the kibbutz where several other Nepali workers were living.

According to a report published by The Wall Street Journal in November 2023, Joshi saved the lives of colleagues inside a shelter when Hamas fighters threw two hand grenades into the room: he managed to pick up one and throw it outside before it exploded, while the second detonated and seriously wounded five of his friends.

The report added that Joshi was later taken to Gaza and detained at al-Shifa Hospital, and since then only limited signs have emerged that he remains alive, the most prominent being a previous clip showing him held in the hospital.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed concern about Joshi’s fate, while the Nepali embassy in Tel Aviv said this information had not been shared with it in advance.

Joshi comes from the village of Bespuri, Mahendranagar, in western Nepal near the Indian border. He traveled to Israel with his family’s support under a government agreement to work in agriculture, and is among hundreds of Nepalis working in Israel in the agriculture and care sectors, attracted by higher wages and greater job stability compared with their home country.