Five South Korean nationals who had been living in the Gaza Strip have safely passed the Rafah border crossing to Egypt.

The foreign ministry said on Friday that all South Korean nationals in Gaza entered Egypt through the crossing at around 11:15 a.m., local time.

The five are said to be a South Korean woman in her 40s, her husband of Palestinian ethnicity and the couple’s three children, all of whom hold South Korean citizenship and reportedly resided in Gaza for a long period of time.

The ministry said it has dispatched an official from the embassy in Egypt and is providing consular assistance such as checking their health and helping with their stay.

It said the government has communicated frequently with South Korean nationals in Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas armed conflict to ensure their safety and made various diplomatic efforts to help them cross the Rafah border at the earliest possible time.

The crossing confirms an earlier report by Al Jazeera and the New York Times that the South Korean nationals had been put on a list of some 590 foreigners and dual citizens who will evacuate to Egypt.