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The government has said that the bodies of Nepalis, who lost their lives in the Hamas attack, are under the protection of the Israeli government.

Organizing a press conference on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said that the bodies of 10 Nepalis are under the protection of the Israeli government.

Sewa Lamsal, spokesperson at the Foreign Ministry, said that the bodies of Nepalis will be brought to Nepal soon after the Israeli government handed them over to the Embassy of Nepal in Israel.

She said that search has been intensified to find Bipin Joshi who has been missing following the attacks by Hamas on Israel.

Over 350 Nepali people eager to return home have so far registered their names at Nepali Embassy.

An aircraft for Nepal Airlines is leaving for Israel at 11 pm today to rescue the Nepalis stranded in the war-torn country.

Nepal and Germany have signed a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDoI) on the Skilled Labor Migration and Knowledge Exchange at the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Germany on Tuesday, the Embassy of Nepal in Berlin, Germany, stated in a press release, shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here today.

Ambassador of Nepal to Germany Ram Kaji Khadka and Michael van der Cammen, Director, International Affairs, German Federal Employment Agency, signed the JDoI on behalf of their respective governments in the presence of Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Sharat Singh Bhandari and Leonie Gebers, State Secretary (Deputy Minister) of Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Germany.

The singing of the JDoI was preceded by a bilateral meeting between the high-level Nepali delegation led by Minister Bhandari and the high-level German delegation led by the State Secretary (Deputy Minister) Gebers.

On the occasion, the leaders of the two delegations shared views, primarily, on the agenda of Nepal-Germany bilateral relations, skilled labor migration, Nepal's commitment to legal migration, workers' welfare and social security, German language and vocational training, and circular migration.

During the meeting, the two leaders expressed happiness over the growing relations between the two countries in recent years and stated that the signing of the JDoI would be the first step in the roadmap towards fair and legal labor migration from Nepal to Germany.

Minister Bhandari also expressed Nepal's willingness to collaborate with the friendly Government of Germany in all sectors of mutual benefits.

State Secretary Gebers also stated that the signing of the JDoI would open the way forward for institutional arrangement in immigrating Nepali skilled workers as per the need of the German job market. She also highlighted the positive sides of the recent German Skilled Immigration Act which has eased the process of recruiting foreign skilled workers in Germany.

The Nepali delegation led by Minister Bhandari included Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Kewal Prasad Bhandari, the Ambassador of Nepal to Germany, and other officials from the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Embassy of Nepal, Berlin.

The German delegation led by Gebers included the high-level officials from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Federal Employment Agency and other relevant Departments of Germany.

Meanwhile, on October 9, 2023, the Nepali delegation held discussions with the delegation of International Labor Organization (ILO) Berlin Bureau led by Dr Annette Niederfranke, Director at the Embassy of Nepal, Berlin. During the meeting, various labor-related issues including welfare of workers, measures against the exploitation and trafficking of workers, inclusive foreign employment and reintegration of migrant workers in the country of origin were discussed.

In the afternoon, the Nepali delegation participated in an interaction program with the Nepali diaspora living in Germany organized by the Embassy.

The Nepali delegation is holding a meeting with the representatives of private sectors of Germany today.

The delegation is scheduled to leave Germany for Nepal tomorrow.

The government has decided to send an aircraft of Nepal Airlines to rescue Nepalis in Israel.

Nepal Airlines Corporation spokesperson Ramesh Paudel said that preparations are being made to send an aircraft to Israel.

“The Tourism Ministry has directed the Nepal Airlines Corporation to keep an aircraft on standby. We are making preparations for the same,” he said.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the aircraft of the national flag carrier will leave for Israel via Dubai to rescue Nepalis at 11 pm today.

The Foreign Ministry was of the opinion that the rescue was delayed after not getting the route for chartered flight.

Nepali nationals in Israel have been urging the government to rescue them at the earliest following the attacks by Hamas.

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister NP Saud held a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen and urged him for necessary coordination and facilitation to repatriate the bodies of Nepali students killed in the attacks by Hamas in Israel.

In response, the Israeli Foreign Minister expressed his commitment to extend necessary assistance to send the bodies to Nepali students back home.

Ten Nepali students have been killed while 55 from Israeli bunkers and 72 from Lebanon have been shifted to safer places since the war broke out four days ago, Nepali Ambassador to Israel Kanta Rizal said.

Over 350 Nepali people eager to return home have so far registered their names at Nepali Embassy.

Earlier, the International Relations and Tourism Committee had directed the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and Foreign Ministry to make arrangements to repatriate the bodies of 10 Nepalis killed in the attack.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire has urged the government to promptly make necessary arrangements for bringing back bodies of the Nepali people killed in the Hamas-launched terrorist attack in Israel.

In a condolence message today, he also called for the government to make arrangements for repatriating interested Nepali people staying in Israel.

He expressed deep sorrow over the loss of the lives of 10 Nepali people in the lethal terrorist attack in Southern Israel.

"I urge the government to relocate all Nepali people facing risks of potential attacks to safer places, arrange repatriation of those interested and bring back bodies of those killed in the incident to home", the message reads.

Extending wishes for the recovery of the wounded Nepali people undergoing treatment in local hospitals, he drew the government's attention towards mobilizing all mechanisms for the search of the missing Nepali people in Israel.