South Koreans were among the 83 people evacuated from Israel aboard a flight of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces amid the escalating conflict between the Jewish state and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
According to Japan’s Kyodo News, the KC767 aerial refueling and transport aircraft brought the passengers from Tel Aviv to Israel’s eastern neighbor Jordan early Friday, Korea time.
The passengers, reportedly consisting of 60 Japanese nationals and four non-Japanese family members as well as 18 South Koreans and a non-South Korean family member, are scheduled to arrive at Haneda airport in Tokyo early Saturday.
Last week, 51 Japanese nationals were evacuated from Israel on a South Korean military transport aircraft.
Tokyo’s foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa, thanked Seoul for helping Japanese nationals depart from Israel in a phone call with South Korean foreign minister Park Jin on Sunday, vowing to provide active cooperation in case South Korea faces a similar situation.