The government has confirmed that the five South Korean nationals who had been residing in Gaza safely passed through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt. 

According to the foreign ministry on Friday, a South Korean woman in her 40s, her husband of Palestinian ethnicity and the couple’s three children entered Egypt on Thursday. The family, who all hold South Korean citizenship, are said to have been residing in Gaza for a long period of time.

The ministry added that 15 South Koreans and one family member residing in Israel departed from the Middle Eastern country aboard a military transport plane sent by the Japanese government.

The ministry said the group left Tel Aviv for Japan at 4:47 p.m. Thursday. 

The number of remaining South Koreans in Israel has now been reduced to about 420.