Kathmandu, Oct 9: A video of Bipin Joshi, the Nepali national held captive by Hamas, was made public on Wednesday evening. According to The Jerusalem Post, Israeli intelligence units obtained the 33-second clip before it was released.

In the video, Joshi identifies himself and says he had arrived in Israel to work on a farm under an agricultural training program before being abducted.

His family issued a statement saying, “This proof of life from Gaza, which we share with you today, has strengthened our firm belief that he is alive.”

Joshi had reached Israel only three weeks before the October 7 attack. He was abducted from Kibbutz Alumim, where several other Nepali citizens were also residing.

A Wall Street Journal report from November 2023 stated that Joshi played a key role in saving the lives of others hiding in their shelter. According to the report, when two grenades were thrown into a windowless room, he grabbed one and threw it out, while the second exploded, seriously injuring five of his colleagues.

Hamas had taken Joshi to Gaza, where he was at one point held at Shifa Hospital. Aside from an earlier video showing him there, very few signs of life had emerged since.

Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump said he was concerned about Joshi’s condition and fate. Nepal’s embassy in Tel Aviv told The Jerusalem Post that it had not received any information or communication on the matter before Trump’s comments.

Joshi had traveled to Israel two years ago under the “Learn and Earn” program and was abducted just 25 days after arriving for his agricultural training.

People’s News Monitoring Service