KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 9

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has held facetime with Bipin Subedi, a student trapped in the Israel-Palestine war and leader of around 49 Nepali students residing inside a bunker in Israel.

Today is the third day of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Israel has retaliated after Hamas' rampage. It has fired deadly missiles on Gaza and has devastated the region shockingly.

The sights of destruction of the cities can be observed in videos uploaded on several news media. Constant airstrikes are being carried out. Infrastructures has been destroyed.

The Government of Nepal has been struggling to rescue a large number of Nepali stu-dents trapped in the war.

Today, PM Dahal talked with a student in Israel through video call and shared it on social media.

In the video, PM Dahal can be seen assuring Subedi thatthe government has been making efforts to rescue them and ensure their safety, while Subedi seemed to panic and pleaded for help.

'Are you leading students from Sudurpaschim?' PM Da-hal asked, to which Subedi replied, 'Yes.'

'We have been relentlessly working to rescue you since last night,' said PM Dahal in a video chat. 'I heard that you are in constant touch withRamesh Malla (the PM's secretary). We also held talks with the foreign minister and we are in contact with all the relevant parties and stakeholders.'

'Communicate this mes-sage to all your friends. Don't let misinformation create a situation of havoc,' PM Dahal told Subedi.

In reply, Subedi said, 'We have been informed to share our live location and I have already informed my group.

They are soon going to rescue us from here.' Subedi further said, 'The embassy has contacted us and told us to be ready in a pair of clothes along with passports. We are desperate to be rescued from here.

Please take us away from here as soon as possible.'

PM Dahal thanked Subedi and said, 'We are all looking for a way to bring you all here. Stay in touch with Ramesh Malla.'

Meanwhile, independent member of the House of Representatives Dr Amresh Kumar Singh has expressed disenchantment that even during such a horrible situation where Nepali students lost their lives in Israel, the government only issued a statement and made phone calls to understand the situation.

Speaking at the meeting of the Lower House, he said, 'PM Dahal's phone conversation with the students in Israel is the job performed by the media.

The media understands the situation. The job of the government is to rescue them.

Therefore, it should be rescuing them regardless of the state's expenses.'

'Why is the government unable to protect the lives of innocent citizens?' he asked.

'They should be rescued even if we need to send chartered planes,' he said.

Similarly, Rastriya Swatantra Party's lawmaker Asim Sah has asked the government to directly communicate with Israel's head of state. 'Ten naive Nepalis have lost their lives to Hamas' attack on Israel. However, it's not only external Hamas who are taking the lives of Nepalis, it's internal Hamas too - the one who controls the power, resources and law.

They left their motherland due to internal Hamas. They should be equally responsible for this loss.'

'How long will the Nepalis lose their lives in other countries? Hamas, which has been in power for 33 years, must be accountable for this.The government is pleading with the Israeli ambassador. Why does it not communicate directly with the Israeli president? Don't just record the data of the dead and the missing,' he added.

A version of this article appears in the print on October 10, 2023, of The Himalayan Times