Japan has accepted one female Palestinian injured in the war in the Gaza Strip for medical treatment, with plans to accept a second female patient in the coming days, the government has revealed.

This is the first time that Japan has accepted patients from Gaza since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October 2023.

The first patient was admitted into a Self-Defense Forces hospital in Tokyo on Wednesday, after receiving treatment in Egypt, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The arrangement for the transfer was made between the governments of Japan and Egypt upon a request from the World Health Organization.

Both patients are expected to return to Gaza after receiving medical care in Japan, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters on Wednesday, adding that the two women will not be relocating to Japan.

The government will continue to provide assistance in addressing humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip, including in its long-term reconstruction, Nakatani said.

“The Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces will also make every effort to provide adequate medical care to the injured individuals from Gaza,” he added.

“(The patients) can be treated more effectively in Japan,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, adding that it has not yet been decided if more patients will be accepted.

The specific details of the patients’ injuries have been withheld due to privacy concerns.

Since war broke out in Gaza, Japan has provided Palestinians in the territory about $230 million in humanitarian aid and relief supplies.

Of the aid, about $110 million has gone to providing food, water and medical care through international organizations and Japanese nongovernmental organizations.

The Japanese government has allocated another ¥13.5 billion ($90 million) to health care services and reconstruction through its supplementary budget for fiscal 2024, and offered some $8.3 million in grants to hospitals in Egypt that are accepting heavily injured patients and newborns from Gaza.