"Just happened to be in the way of Hamas": US envoy joins Israeli president in calls for release of Nepali student hostage in Gaza

Tel Aviv [Israel], August 20 (ANI): US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he recently met the family of Bipin Joshi, a 22-year-old Nepali national who was taken hostage during the October 7 Hamas attack.

"I just had the opportunity to visit with a beautiful family from Nepal. It's the family of Bipin Joshi, who was one of the hostages taken on October 7th," Huckabee said.

In a video message on X, he explained that Joshi was not Israeli or American, but a student from Nepal who had come to Israel just weeks before the attack for agricultural studies.

He further added, "His family they were just in my office, his beautiful, precious sister who's a high school teenager, his dear and precious mother, thier hearts are broken. They have not heard from Bipin, he was taken hostage. They don't know his condition. They want their son, their brother, to come home. "

Huckabee urged people to pray for Joshi and all hostages, noting that they were "innocent civilians who happened to be in the way of Hamas."

He added, "We want them back and we will do everything possible for them to return."

Earlier this week, Israeli President Isaac Herzog also met Joshi's mother, Padma, and sister, Pushpa, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem.

Calling the encounter "heartbreaking," Herzog posted on X that Israel stands with the family in their pain and will not rest until Joshi and all hostages are released.

He wrote, "Heartbreaking meeting with Padma and Pushpa, the mother and sister of Bipin Joshi, a Nepalese student abducted by Hamas on October 7. Israel stands with them in their pain, and we will not stop until every hostage is returned home. Bipin and all the hostages must be returned now!"

A video shared by Herzog showed Padma and Pushpa holding Joshi's picture as they appealed for his release. Pushpa, his sister, said the family could not imagine what he was going through in captivity. She thanked Israelis for their support and made a direct plea to the international community to "do whatever you can" to secure his return.

She said, "We can't imagine how he's living there, we can't. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the Israeli people thank you so much for standing with us and for giving us hope, it's too much for me and my family, and also it's too much for him. My appeal to the international community, please do whatever you can". (ANI)

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