For twenty families, Monday brought an end to a nightmare as their loved ones returned home from Gaza. But for the families of Bipin Joshi and Tamir Nimrodi, the latest peace deal delivered only a deepening silence.
The agreement, pushed through by the United States, was a major step. Hamas released 20 living hostages and the remains of 28 others. In exchange, Israel freed over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.
As the Israeli military confirmed all 20 listed hostages were safe, a hard reality emerged. Bipin Joshi and Tamir Nimrodi were not on that list. Neither side has confirmed if they are alive or dead, leaving their families stuck in a terrible limbo. Before this deal, 48 hostages were still being held. Twenty-six were confirmed to have died, and with 20 now free, Joshi and Nimrodi are the only two unaccounted for as of late 2025.
The Calculation Behind the Silence
Their exclusion forces a tough question for mediators: what happens when only the most complex cases are left? The diplomatic moves that freed the 20 have so far failed these two men, signaling new and difficult hurdles ahead.
This kind of painful ambiguity is often a deliberate part of the negotiation.
According to a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Conflict Resolution Studies, this was no accident. "Leaving specific names off a release list is a calculated tactic," he notes, "used either to keep leverage for later or to signal a much deeper problem between the two sides."
This puts mediators in a tough spot. The first phase of talks likely dealt with the easier cases. The ones that remain could be complicated by:
- The hostages' health
- The specific group holding them
- Their perceived value to Hamas
Each person left represents a brand new, high-stakes diplomatic puzzle.
A Family's Fight for an Answer
The silence is especially brutal for the family of Bipin Joshi. He was a Nepalese agriculture student working at Kibbutz Alumim when he was abducted during the October 7, 2023, attacks, one of over 200 people taken that day.
To keep his name in the public eye, his family recently released censored footage of him taken in November 2023. Their plea was not just for Bipin, but for the safe return of all hostages. That call now feels more urgent than ever.
While the return of 20 people is a huge victory, the missing cases of Bipin Joshi and Tamir Nimrodi are a clear reminder of the human cost of this conflict. For their families, there are no celebrations, only one question that nobody can answer: Where are they?