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Minister for Foreign Affairs NP Saud has urged people not to visit Israel individually or politically except in case of official decisions at the political level.

His statements come in the wake of wars between Hamas and Israel.

The minister made this statement while informing the Foreign Relations and Tourism Committee of the House of Representatives about the attacks in Israel by Hamas and the situation of Nepalis in war-torn Israel.  

Saying the situation in Israel is sensitive following Hamas attacks, he urged people not to politicize this situation.

"The situation is sensitive. So, people are requested not to visit Israel at person or political levels except in case of political decisions. We should not politicize this situation."

In the meeting, lawmakers praised the Government of Nepal for its rescue of Nepali people trapped in Israel. They also suggested the government continue rescue efforts.

Foreign Minister NP Saud has said that continuous efforts are being made to keep Nepalis, who are at risk in Israel, in a safer place.

During a meeting of the International Relations and Tourism Committee of the House of Representatives held in Singha Durbar on Tuesday morning, Minister Saud said that 55 Nepalis have been relocated to a safer place with the help of Israel government on Monday.

He said that initiatives are being taken to keep other students, who are at risk, in a safer place.

Minister Saud said that 55 Nepalis—32 of Sudurpaschim University and 23 of Agriculture and Forest Science University—who have been taking refuge in a risky area in comparison to the southern part of Israel, have been relocated to a safer place.

He said that arrangements have also been made to keep some Nepalis, who are staying in the farm houses in the northern region, in the bunkers in a safe way.

Minister Saud further said that online registration has been started to collect details of the Nepalis, who want to return to Nepal, from the Nepali Embassy and more than 200 have been received so far.

The Minister said the aircrafts of Nepal Airlines and Himalaya Airlines are on standby to carry out rescue operations.

According to Minister Saud, coordination and facilitation are being made with the government of Israel to identify the actual situation of Nepalis and to rescue them.

Around 4,500 Nepalis are currently employed as caregivers in Israel. Additionally, there are 265 Nepali students studying there as part of the ‘Learn and Earn’ program of the Israeli government, Foreign Minister Saud had said in the Parliament meeting on Sunday.

Ten Nepali students enrolled in educational institutions in the southern region of Israel have lost their lives in the attack by Hamas on Israel.

According to Nepali Ambassador to Israel Kanta Rijal, the deceased have been identified as Narayan Prasad Neupane and Ashish Chaudhary of Kailali, Ganesh Kumar Nepali of Bajhang, Dipesh Raj Bist and Lokendra Singh Dhami of Darchula, Anand Sah of Dhanusha, Rajesh Kumar Swarnkar of Sunsari, Rajan Phulara of Doti, Padam Thapa and Prabesh Bhandari of Salyan.

Dhan Bahadur Chaudhary from Tikapur, Himanchal Kattel from Gorkha, and Bidhan Sejuwal from Salyan were injured in the attack. They are receiving treatment at a local hospital. Reports suggest that one of the injured is in a critical condition. A person is still missing.

The Socialist Front Nepal has decided to organize cadres' assemblies in all 11 districts of Gandaki Province.

A meeting of the Front's Province Coordination Committee held on Monday decided to form the District Coordination Committees within a week and organize the assemblies to disseminate Front's messages. The Coordination Committee shall have two leaders from participating parties, CPN (Maoist Center), CPN (Unified Socialist), Janata Samajwadi Party and Nepal Communist Party.

Maoist Center's Gandaki Province Committee Chairperson and Front's Gandaki Province Coordinator Gayatri Gurung said that the Maoist Center would take a lead for the assemblies in Gorkha, Syangja, Myagdi and Manang districts. 

Likewise, CPN (Unified Socialist) will coordinate the assemblies to be held in Kaski, Mustang and Parbat while Janata Samajwadi is responsible for such meetings in Nawalpur and Lamjung districts.

Gurung said that the Party and Nepal Communist Party will coordinate the meetings to be organized in Baglung and Tanahun districts.

Likewise, the Front's meeting has expressed grief over the demise of Nepali students in Israel and has asked the government to ensure speedy rescue and relief to the stranded ones.

The government has decided to provide Rs 1m in relief to the families of Nepali students who lost their lives in Israel.

Government Spokesperson Rekha Sharma informed that an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday decided to allocate the amount to the families of 10 Nepalis who were killed in Saturday’s Hamas attack on Israel. The meeting also resolved to find ways to relocate trapped Nepali citizens to safe areas.

Similarly, the government has declared a national mourning day on Tuesday. National flags will be hoisted at half-mast in all government offices and diplomatic missions of Nepal to mourn the victims. 

A rapid action team has been formed under the leadership of Foreign Minister NP Saud to rescue the Nepalis trapped in Israel. The team has decided to have an airplane on standby and establish coordination with the Israeli side to repatriate the bodies of Nepali students. 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal spoke with a Nepali student hiding in a bunker following the attack. Dahal held a video call with Bipin Subedi, and assured that the government was doing its best to rescue all Nepali citizens from Israel at the earliest. 

Dahal’s personal secretary Ramesh Malla said that the prime minister told Subedi that the government has been making efforts to rescue Nepalis based in Israel for the past three days. 

“Conversations are happening at the foreign ministerial level, and regular talks are taking place with the Embassy of Israel,” Prime Minister Dahal told Subedi.

Prime Minister Dahal has instructed authorities concerned to understand the situation in Israel and to identify the deceased and bring their bodies to Nepal at the earliest. 

Malla said that there was a delay in evacuating the students hiding in bunkers, because the Israeli side considered it a security risk.

Social media posts and videos suggest that around 32 students from the war zone were taken to a safe place on Monday. The Israeli army has initiated the movement of students in Israel’s Sedot Negev to safe locations.

Meanwhile, the Sudurpaschim provincial government has also announced to provide Rs 200,000 each to the families of those students killed in Israel. In a statement issued on Monday, Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah announced that the provincial government would provide support to the families of the deceased. He also requested the federal governments of both countries to conduct search and rescue efforts and assist in bringing back the bodies of Nepali students.

The opposition parties, CPN-UML and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), have asked Speaker Devraj Ghimire to pass a special resolution from Parliament to rescue Nepalis stuck in Israel. In a meeting held at Singha Durbar, the two parties emphasized that they would raise the Israel issue intensively in the Parliament through adjournment motions, motions of public importance, or resolution motions.

UML Chief Whip Padam Giri urged the government to take a serious interest in the situation of the 10 Nepalis who were killed in the Hamas attack, emphasizing that the condition of other Nepalis there is critical.

Nepali Congress MP Arjun Narsingha KC also strongly demanded that the government immediately bring home the bodies of the students who died in Israel. 

Addressing the Parliament session on Monday, KC urged the government to promptly repatriate the bodies of the 10 Nepali students. He also asked the government to ascertain the number of Nepalis in Israel and inform Parliament. 

“We have received news that about 123,000 people have been displaced in Israel. The details of how many Nepalis are among them should be presented to the Parliament,” he said.

Several other parliamentarians, including Gokul Prasad Baskota, Ishwar Bahadur Rijal, Chitra Bahadur KC, Anjani Shrestha, Anisha Nepali, Abdul Khan, Amanlal Modi, Amar Bahadur Raymajhi, Amrit Lal Rajbanshi, Ishwari Gharti, Urmila Majhi, Kiran Kumar Shah and Geeta Basnet, also demanded for a prompt rescue of the Nepali citizens from Israel. 

Late on Monday, Prime Minister Dahal called an all-party meeting where he requested parties stand united on the Israel incident. One of the leaders in the meeting said all  parties share a unified stance on the issue of Israel. “The cross-party leaders suggested that the government provide  accurate and timely information about the state of Nepali there,” he told ApEx.

Janakpur youth killed after leaving for Israel just 26 days ago

Family members of Anand Sah have been devastated after he was killed along with nine other Nepalis in Saturday’s Hamas attack on Israel. 

The 25-year-old from Laxminiya Rural Municipality, Dhanusha, had left for Israel just 26 days ago. Eldest among four siblings, Anand was his family’s only support.  

His parents Soman and Shuvakala, and sisters, Sunita, Saraswati and Aarati are inconsolable. Neighbors and relatives have gathered at their house to comfort them, but to no avail.

Soman and Shuvakala have been drifting in and out of consciousness. When they come to their senses, they cry out for their deceased son. “Where did you go? Why don’t you come back? Who is going to look after us?” 

Neighbor Mithilesh Sah says Anand’s death has dealt an immeasurable blow to his family.

“Anand was the eldest of the four children and the only son to his parents. So his father and mother had high hopes for him,” says Mithilesh, recalling how Soman had worked in the Persian Gulf for 10 years so that Anand could go to school. 

Despite a poor family background, Anand was able to attend a boarding school and study science at Mithila College. Neighbors and friends remember Anand as a diligent student

“His parents had sacrificed a lot to educate him,” says Mithilesh. “One can only imagine what they must be going through after their son’s tragic death.” 

Anand had last talked with his sisters over the phone on Friday. He could not speak with his parents that day. Soman and Shuvakala tried contacting Anand on Saturday, but they could not get hold of him. There was a ringing tone, but no answer.