254 Nepali students rescued from conflict-ridden Israel return home

Kathmandu, Oct 13: A group of 254 Nepali students rescued from the strife-torn Israel and led by
Foreign Minister N P Saud arrived in Kathmandu on Friday.
A Nepal Airlines flight that took off from Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport on Thursday landed
at Tribhuvan International Airport here this morning after a stopover in Dubai.
Speaking to the media at the airport, Foreign Minister Saud, who flew to Israel a day before to
facilitate the rescue mission, said the remaining Nepalis who have requested repatriation would be
rescued soon.
The minister said 557 Nepalis had provided their details in response to a request from the Embassy
of Nepal in Tel Aviv to those wishing to return to Nepal or relocate to safer places.
“Out of the 557 Nepalis, 503 had applied to return to Nepal and among them 254 have returned
home today with us,” he was quoted as saying by the Himalayan Times newspaper.
Minister Saud also said that 54 Nepalis who had requested to be relocated from risky areas have
been shifted to safer zones in Israel.
Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a barrage of air strikes in Southern Israel on Saturday
which killed 10 Nepali students. Six students were rescued and one went missing.
”A search continues for Bipin Joshi who has gone missing following the attacks. We will share the
information as soon as we get additional information on this,” Saud said.
“The Israeli side has stated that it will take some time for handing over the bodies as it is required to
complete the legal process and keep separate details of each and every deceased, and the number
of bodies in Israel is currently very high,” he said, requesting the families and relatives of the
deceased Nepalis to have patience.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there were 265 students from Nepal studying under the
Israel government-funded ‘Learn and Earn’ scheme in different parts of Israel, and about 4,500
Nepali citizens working in various professional fields.