Two hostages who are still in Gaza and whose status was previously described by Israeli authorities as uncertain are now presumed to be dead.
Bipin Joshi, an agriculture student from Nepal, was working on a farm in kibbutz Alumim when he was kidnapped. He was 22 at the time.
Tamir Nimrodi, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier, was kidnapped from his base near the Erez Crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip. He was 18 at the time.
The Israeli government said in the past that it had “grave concerns” about the fates of Joshi and Nimrodi, but unlike the 26 other people who are still in Gaza, the two men have never been officially declared deceased.
Joshi’s family said as recently as last week that they had “unwavering faith” that Joshi was alive, after seeing a newly found video of him alive in Gaza in November 2023.
But with the Israeli government saying on Monday that all of the living hostages have now been freed, Nimrodi and Joshi are officially presumed to be dead.
Some of the deceased hostages are expected to be returned to Israel on Monday. However, Israel has said that Hamas may not be able to find and return all the remaining dead hostages in Gaza. A joint task force will be set up to try and find the missing remains of dead hostages, the government said.
Source link
-
-
-
-
-
