"After shooting two of our friends dead, Hamas militants threw two bombs inside the bunker in which we were taking shelter," recounted 17-year-old Nitin Bhandari, a Nepalese student who had been in Israel for over a month.
As sirens blared across southern Israel on Saturday, 7 October – after extremist group Hamas reportedly launched 5,000 rockets – Bhandari, along with other students from Nepal, had taken shelter at a bunker near Alumim kibbutz (farm) in southern Israel.
At least 49 agriculture undergraduate students from Far-Western University (Sudurpaschim University) in Nepal's Tikapur had gone to Israel on 12 September through the 'Learn and Earn' programme under a joint initiative of the government of Nepal and Israel.
At least 17 of them were living and working on Alumim near conflict-ridden Gaza Strip.
Almost a month later, on 13 October, several of these students reached Kathmandu through a special rescue aircraft which landed at Tribhuwan International Airport. The Nepalese students, who were caught in the Israel-Hamas war, recounted how they were attacked by Hamas militants and how their friends were shot dead.
'We Are Nepali, We Are Nepali'
The 17 students at Alumim were inside a bunker when they were attacked by Hamas militants.
"Two of the students were shot dead by the militants as they got out of the bunker. We could hear them say – 'We are Nepali, We are Nepali!' – as they raised their hands before the firing started," Bhandari alleged.
He added that after shooting two of them dead, the militants threw two grenades inside the bunker.
"At that time, Bipin Joshi – another student, who is now missing – picked one and threw it out of the bunker. But then they threw another bomb, injuring several of our friends at the front of the bunker," Bhandari stated.
The attack left 10 Nepalese students dead, according to Nepal's foreign ministry. Meanwhile, "a search operation" is on for 20-something Joshi, Nepal Foreign Minister NP Saud informed the local media on Friday, 13 October.
Bhandari further added that those who were in the bunker at that time were neither able to walk nor speak. However, those who were sitting behind and were safe called for an ambulance.
"After some time, the Israeli police came and took the injured to the hospital," Bhandari said.
Another student, Bibusha Adhikari, said that many of her friends were saved because Joshi threw the hand grenade out of the bunker.
"I can't imagine what would have happened to the 17 people if our friend Bipin had not thrown the grenade out of the bunker."
According to her, Joshi was then taken hostage by Hamas terrorists and that the students don't know his condition yet. Even Pushpa – Bipin's sister – had received a message from another Nepalese student, who hails from Kailali district in Nepal, alleging that he had been kidnapped during the attack.
Calling Joshi the "real hero", Adhikari appealed to the Nepalese government to rescue him. She said that now every student's request to the government is 'Save Bipin Joshi'.
'Lost Our Friends, Lifetime Trauma For Us'
"No one expected that there would be such a tyrant attack", Bhandari remarked, adding that the students were just beginning to understand "how to be safe after staying here [in Israel] for a month."
He said that when Hamas terrorists stormed the bunker where students were taking shelter, everyone was in a state of shock and confusion.
"I didn't pay attention or look at others. For the next 30 minutes, the bunker became completely silent," Bhandari added.
He alleged that the militants later barged into "their rooms" and "some people were shot there." He claimed that one of his friends, who could not make it to the bunker and was hiding behind a gas cylinder in their apartment building, witnessed the shooting as it took place.
"The bomb came, the missile came, we survived, and everything is fine. But we lost our friends, it will be a lifetime trauma for us," Bhandari said.
Meanwhile, Shobha Paswan -- a student from Rampur Campus in Nepal's Chitwan, who had gone to Israel a month ago -- said she is still "shocked" when she remembers how the next four days were spent in the bunker.
The Quint is given to understand that she was in a separate bunker close to where Bhandari and others were taking shelter.
"We spent the first 24 hours sitting inside the bunker, and in the next 24 hours we could only go to the toilet. In that too, we had to run back inside within 1-2 minutes, before shelling started again," said Paswan.
'After Our Friends Were Killed, We Didn't Think We'll Survive'
Twenty four-year-old Paswan, who too had gone to Israel under the 'Learn and Earn' programme, said although it was "normal" for sirens to go off after missiles were hit in Israel but this time "it was very different." She added that she could only see black plumes of smoke in the sky.
"I was scared as the sirens went on on for a longer time than usual," Paswan said. She added that as part of the drill, she immediately moved to the nearest bunker for safety.
However, when her boss came and informed her of the "war" that had escalated between Israel and Hamas, she was moved to another safer place off the main road.
While sitting in the bunker, Paswan was listening to the news. This is when she learnt that Nepal had confirmed the death of 10 students.
"When we were told that we had lost our friends, we became very weak mentally. We were stressed. We thought that we might also not survive," she added.
'Militants Dropped Via Parachutes, PUBG-like Situation on Ground'
Rizwan Shahi, another student from Rampur campus, said that they feared militants brandishing weapons and dropping from the sky more than the air strikes.
"You must have seen the PUBG game! Attacks happen on ground as well as from those who come with parachutes; exactly the same thing happened in Israel," he remarked.
While Hamas militants were reportedly entering Israeli land by bulldozing the barbed wire fence along the border, Israel's military power was focused on stopping those coming from the border.
"At that time, terrorists like in mobile games descended from parachutes and attacked from room to room. They targeted the village and destroyed most of the agricultural farms," Shahi added.
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