The Tanzanians

In September 2023, Joshua Mollel, Clemence Mtenga and Ezekiel Kitiku came to Israel for a work experience. They studied agriculture in Tanzania, their home country, and they were going to spend a year in a kibbutz in Israel, to learn and work. The three were excited to see a new country, meet new people and gain experience in their field of study. Clemence and Ezekiel went to stay in kibbutz Nir Oz, while Joshua was stationed in Nahal Oz, a kibbutz nearby.

For a month, they worked in the dairy farms of their respective kibbutzim. They learned what to do when the rocket siren sounded – go into the shelter immediately and stay there for 10 minutes. But thanks to the Iron Dome, the rockets usually didn’t do any damage.

On October 7, Ezekiel was the one working the early morning shift. Which saved him, but doomed his friend, Clemence Mtenga. When he heard the sirens and rocket explosions, Ezekiel quickly went into the shelter at the dairy farm. He texted both of his friends. At first, they answered and said they were ok, also hiding in shelters. But a few hours later, their phones went dead.

Hamas attacked both kibbutzim, but they didn’t get to the dairy farm of Nir Oz. This is what saved Ezekiel’s life. After the smoke finally cleared, Clemence Mtenga and Joshua Mollel were both missing.

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For six weeks, Clemence Mtenga was believed to be a hostage. But on November 18, his body was finally identified. He had been murdered in cold blood by Hamas terrorists on October 7. Clemence was 22 years old, the youngest of four siblings. He was shy, studious and sang in the church choir. He wanted to start his own agriculture business. All those dreams are now shattered, his family broken and in mourning. Rest in peace, Clemence. I’m so very sorry this happened to you.

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Joshua Mollel was also thought to be a hostage. For more than two months, his family and all of us here in Israel held on to hope, that he was alive, that he might be released because he was not Israeli, like the Thai hostages.

But as usual, we expected to much from the demonic death cult that is Hamas. They didn’t care who they slaughtered. On December 18, Hamas released a terrible, graphic video of the murder of Joshua Mollel. I haven’t watched it but I have read descriptions and it absolutely broke me. After all this time of hope and fear, it turned out that Joshua Mollel was murdered brutally by Hamas and his body abducted to Gaza. In no way did he deserve any of this. My heart goes out to his family.

Joshua was 21 years old. He was the eldest of five children. His father, Loitu Mollel, came to Israel after the news of his death broke, to see for himself where his son lived for the last month of his life, and where he was killed. He said that his son was “polite, obedient and serious”, and like Clemence, he had plans to start his own agricultural business.

About the gruesome footage, Loitu Mollel said: “I hope it is deleted from the internet. I hope no one watches it.” I have not watched it and I promise I never will. After seeing a still image from the video, I wish I could delete it from my brain. Please, if anyone ever comes across it, don’t watch it. Out of respect for Joshua and his family, but also to spare yourself the horror. I cried so much over the death of Joshua Mollel. It was so incredibly cruel and unjust. Again, I’m so sorry, Joshua. You should never have been sent to a kibbutz that close to Gaza. None of you should have.

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The Nepalis

Of the seventeen Nepali students staying in kibbutz Alumim, only seven made it out alive. Let that sink in. Ten young men were brutally murdered by rabid terrorists, for no reason at all. Ten men who hadn’t done anything wrong, who were not Israeli or Jewish (not that that’s a good reason to kill someone), with hopes and dreams for the future, with families and loved ones at home.

The seventeen young men were at a work experience in the kibbutz, for a “learn and earn” program. All of them were the pride and hope of their families, who had poured all their resources into their sons’ education. The boys sent their earnings back home to support their families, and were planning to come back and start their own farms.

But Hamas had other plans. On October 7, the day started off with a hailstorm of rockets from Gaza. The Nepali students waited it out in a shelter with the Thais, still feeling like this wasn’t serious, it would all pass soon. Laughing and taking selfies. Playing games.

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Most of the people in these photos are now dead.

In an interview in The Guardian, a survivor, Dhanbahadur Chaudhari, tells the story of what happened that day. As they hid in the bomb shelter, the terrorists shot into the bunker and threw grenades inside. The explosions killed and injured countless people. Chaudhari says: “Shrapnel hit me as well. When I woke up I was covered in blood and I could see my friends dead and injured around me. One friend didn’t have legs, another didn’t have hands. There were dead bodies of my friends in the door of the bunker.”

Despite this unimaginable horror, Chaudhari did his best to save his injured friends, bandaging their wounds and bringing them water. But help wouldn’t come until the evening, and several of the injured died from blood loss.

Seven of the students made it out of that bunker alive. But of those seven, one of them was kidnapped to Gaza. Bipin Joshi was not among the dead or the survivors. He was grabbed and taken by force, as a trophy, a bargaining chip. He was later seen in security footage from the Al-Shifa hospital, being dragged somewhere. It is clear that hostages were kept in that hospital and that it was used for terrorist activity.

Bipin Joshi is 23 years old. He is a son, a brother and a friend. He was excited about his adventure in Israel. “I will see the world, mum!” he told his mother. He would learn and earn money at the same time. What’s not to like? Now, he is stuck in the dungeons of Hamas, enduring God only knows what. The Nepali government is doing everything to get him out of there. But to no avail. Hamas does not give up their human shields that easily.

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The senselessness of the killing of these foreign young men really gets to me. They had nothing to do with anything. They were just there. It breaks my heart. And why were they stationed in kibbutzim that close to Gaza? Sure, none of us could ever have expected anything like this. But there have been terror and rocket attacks in the Gaza Envelope since 2005. It is wrong and careless to risk the lives of foreign students like this.

I hope and wish that Bipin Joshi will be freed one day. He has been captive for more than 3 months now. The injustice of this is infuriating. We need the international community to condemn and pressure Hamas to release the hostages BEFORE agreeing to any sort of ceasefire. We cannot leave Bipin Joshi, Noa Argamani, Kfir Bibas and so many other innocent people behind in the hands of Hamas. They have no right to hold them prisoner. Give them back to us!!