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KATHMANDU: As many as 254 Nepali nationals rescued from Israel arrived in Nepal early this morning. They were brought home on a wide-body aircraft of Nepal Airlines Corporation. Minister for Foreign Affairs NP Saud and other government officials from Nepal had gone to Israel to bring them home.
Talking to the mediapersons at the Tribhuvan International Airport after the rescue flight, Minister Saud said 254 of the 503 Nepalis who wanted to return to Nepal from Israel have been brought in this rescue flight and the remaining others will also be brought soon.
"A total of 557 Nepalis have provided their details in response to the request of the Embassy of Nepal based in Tel Aviv, Israel to the Nepalis wanting to relocate to safer places and return to Nepal to give their details online. Out of the 557 Nepalis, 503 had applied to return home and among them, 254 have returned home today with us," the Foreign Minister said.
According to him, 54 Nepalis who requested to be relocated from risky areas have been shifted to a safe zone in Israel. He added that four Nepali citizens were injured in the attack by Hamas militants in the southern part of Israel and one among them has returned to Nepal after receiving treatment, another one has been discharged from hospital while two others are receiving treatment in hospital in Israel.
"A search is on for Bipin Joshi who has gone missing following the attack. We will share the information as soon as we get additional information on this," Minister Saud said.
Minister Saud said 10 Nepali students who had gone to Israel from the Far-west University of Nepal were killed in the attack by the Hamas group and coordination is being established with the Government of Israel to bring their bodies to Nepal.
"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 said and requested the families and relatives of the deceased Nepalis to have patience for some time.
Minister Saud said the government will make arrangements for bringing home the remaining Nepalis who could not be brought this time due to some reason, as regular commercial flights are also being operated from Tel Aviv at present.
The foreign minister thanked the media and mediapersons, the Government of Israel and the Government of Nepal, the Embassy of Israel in Nepal and the Embassy of Nepal in Israel and the members of the flight crew, who helped in the rescue of Nepali nationals and expressed their solidarity in this.
Nepal Police had kept three buses on standby at the airport to take the rescued Nepalis to various destinations.
According to the statistics of the Ministry, there are currently 265 Nepali students studying in Israel and about 4,500 working in various professions and sectors. The 265 Nepali students went to the Israeli government-funded 'Learn and Earn' programme.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that the bodies of all the deceased will be brought to Nepal as soon as possible after the due procedures are completed.
