254-Nepali Pupils Rescued From Conflict-Ridden Israel Return Home

On Friday, a group of 254 Nepali students led by Foreign Minister N P Saud arrived in Kathmandu on Friday after being evacuated from war-torn Israel.

After a stopover in Dubai, a Nepal Airlines flight that took off from Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport on Thursday landed at Tribhuvan International Airport today.

Speaking to the media at the airport, Foreign Minister Saud stated that the remaining Nepalis who had sought repatriation will be rescued soon.

According to the minister, 557 Nepalis supplied their information in response to a request from the Nepal Embassy in Tel Aviv for people desiring 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”, the minister added.

Minister Saud further stated that 54 Nepalis who had sought to be evacuated from dangerous places in Israel have been relocated to safer areas.

On Saturday, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a volley of air strikes in Southern Israel, killing ten Nepali students. Six kids were saved, but 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 continued.

“The Israeli side has stated that it will take some time to hand 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 stated, urging the families and relatives of the deceased Nepalis to be patient.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there were 265 Nepali students in various parts of Israel under the Israel government-funded ‘Learn and Earn’ scheme, and approximately 4,500 Nepali citizens working in various professional fields.

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