My friend Bipin threw back Hamas grenade – and saved my life

Bipin Joshi threw back a grenade from Hamas attackers before being taken hostage in the assault on Israel two years ago, says the fellow Nepalese student he saved.

“I may not have survived if both grenades had exploded. Bipin showed courage and threw the grenade out,” Dhan Bahadur Chaudhary told BBC Nepali.

He was speaking after the Israeli military identified his friend’s body as being among four dead hostages returned by Hamas under the Gaza ceasefire accord.

Bipin was 23 and working on a kibbutz when he was taken by Hamas into captivity along with 250 others on 7 October 2023. It’s unclear how or when he died.

His family and friends hoped right up to the release deadline that he might be among living hostages returned on 13 October, but he wasn’t, and a day later their worst fears were confirmed.

Bipin, Dhan Bahadur and 15 other Nepalese agriculture students had been in Israel for just over three weeks when Kibbutz Alumim was attacked.

“We knew that there may be a war in Israel. But we had no idea that there may be any ground attack of that magnitude,” Dhan Bahadur said. “We thought that there could be missile attacks and we would be safe if we stay underground, in the bunkers.”

For the students who’d been invited under the Israeli government’s “Earn and Learn Programme” it was a great opportunity to make better lives for themselves and their families in Nepal.

Dhan Bahadur credits his survival to Bipin’s courage.

“At the time of attack, two grenades were thrown near the bunkers. He [Bipin] picked up one and threw it outside; one exploded inside. Due to that explosion, I and four others were injured,” he says.

“He was unharmed at that point. If both grenades had exploded, I would not have been speaking with you like this.”

Ten of the Nepalese students were killed in the attack. Bipin was the only one captured.

“We met for the last time when he and others were being shifted to another bunker,” Dhan Bahadur says. “Because, after the injury, I could not move and I stayed in the first bunker. I later came to know that there were two attacks in the bunker where he took shelter and he was held captive from there.”

The 27-year-old says he feels deeply saddened after hearing about his colleague’s death. He and Bipin studied together in Far Western University School of Agriculture in Tikapur, Nepal.

“We made all possible efforts from our sides to secure his release. We did everything. But yesterday, we had to face such shocking news. All of Nepal is in grief. I do not know what to say. I have no words to explain my sorrow.”

Dhan Bahadur says Bipin and other colleagues had the same goal of making little savings and starting their own enterprise after returning from the exchange programme in Israel.

“He loved playing football and basketball. We would chat for hours about our goals and dreams. He wanted to get his body in good shape and to buy a new mobile phone. We even recorded a song about friendship with my phone. He also talked about showcasing himself in a music video.”

On 14 October, the Israeli military said it believed Bipin Joshi was “murdered in captivity during the first months of the war”. There’s no way of independently confirming that.

But if it’s the case, Dhan Bahadur said, the international community should ask Hamas about why it happened.

He said he had not received any support from Nepal’s government following his injury but hoped the Israeli government would help Bipin’s family.

Bipin’s immediate family members have not released any statement so far.

Footage from 7 October showed him walking inside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. His family received no signs of life for a year, until the Israeli military shared a video of him in captivity around November 2023.

Relatives described the footage as “proof of life” just hours before the ceasefire deal was agreed, and were hoping for a miracle.

Now in his hometown of Bhimdutta municipality Bipin’s family are grieving after hearing news of his death.

His mother and sister had gone to the United States to lobby for the release of hostages, Bipin’s cousin Kishore Joshi told BBC Nepali.

He says the family has no words to describe the grief. “His mother and sister are returning from US on Thursday. The father is not in the condition to express the pain in words.”

Meanwhile it’s unclear when Bipin’s body will be returned to his family.

Israel is making all necessary arrangements to repatriate his remains to Nepal, as it did for the other students who died, Nepal’s ministry of foreign affairs said.

“We are all shocked by the news of Bipin Joshi’s death. In this time of sorrow [we] extend our deep sympathy to the grieving family,” it said in a statement of condolence.

“Even after Bipin Joshi’s body is brought back to Nepal, we will continue appropriate efforts in co-ordination and co-operation with the concerned government authorities and stakeholders – to uncover the truth about the actual cause and circumstances of his death.”

Dhan Bahadur says he and other colleagues who returned safely from Israel plan to visit Bipin’s family in Kanchanpur district.

“We will keep his memories alive. We will provide our care, support and consolation to his family.”

He still feels numb.

“I returned to Nepal and I am studying at the moment. But Bipin’s dreams remained unfulfilled.”