The first UK nationals have left Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the Foreign Office has confirmed.
British citizens were among more than 400 people who left Gaza via the crossing on Wednesday, the first time the crossing had been opened for people to leave the Strip since the beginning of the war on October 7.
The Foreign Office did not say how many British passport holders had been able to leave.
It said it had agreed a list of British nationals that want to leave Gaza with Egyptian and Israeli authorities and it would be told in advance when those on the list could use the crossing.
A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) spokesman said on Wednesday evening: "We are regularly updating all British nationals registered us.
"The crossing will be open for controlled and time-limited periods to allow specific groups of foreign nationals and the seriously wounded to leave.
"We have agreed a list of British nationals that want to leave Gaza with Egyptian and Israeli authorities. We will be informed in advance when those on the list can use the crossing to ensure we can provide assistance."
It comes after Britons who attempted to make the crossing were turned back, despite hundreds of other foreign passport holders being allowed to cross.
Those who crossed included at least 320 foreign passport holders and dozens of severely injured Gazans, three Egyptian sources and a Palestinian official said, the first beneficiaries of the deal brokered between Egypt, Israel and Hamas.
Earlier, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly promised that UK teams would be ready to assist British nationals who are able to make the crossing.
The UK has a Border Force team in Cairo, with consular officials in Arish, near Rafah, to provide support for Britons who leave Gaza.
"We are working with Egyptian and Israeli authorities to ensure the crossing stays open so all British nationals can get to safety in the coming days," Mr Cleverly wrote on X.
He called the first people being able to leave "a hugely important first step".
British teacher Zaynab Wandawi was among those who were turned away at the border on Wednesday. The 29-year-old, of Salford, Greater Manchester, travelled to Gaza at the beginning of October with her husband, who is British Palestinian, and his relatives for a family member’s wedding before the Israel-Hamas war erupted.
But Ms Wandawi’s mother, Lalah Ali-Faten, 52, said when the couple arrived at the border they were told their names were not on a list of people permitted to leave.
"They’re hoping it’s just a waiting game and they’ll get out as soon as possible," she said.A diplomatic source briefed on Egyptian plans said some 7,500 foreign passport holders would be evacuated from Gaza over the course of about two weeks, adding that Al Arish airport would be made available to fly people out.
Diplomats said initial foreign national evacuees were expected to travel by road to Cairo and fly out from there.
"An important step in the right direction, which we need to build on," Tor Wennesland, the United Nations' Middle East peace envoy, said on X social media platform, hailing the opening of Rafah to the first evacuees.
The border will be opened again on Thursday, border officials previously said.
Israel, Hamas and Egypt all agreed to allow for limited evacuations from the Gaza Strip, as well as aid to get into the territory.
For weeks only small amounts of aid have been allowed through the stretch into Gaza, which has been subjected to shortages of food, water and fuel as bombs rain down.
As Tel Aviv's forces stepped up operations against the Hamas group, which carried out the October 7 atrocities in Israel, Mr Cleverly also stressed the need for humanitarian aid to get into Gaza.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in the wake of its October 7 attacks where more than 220 civilians were kidnapped by militants and at least 1,400 were murdered.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said Israel's air strikes on the Jabalia refugee camp on Tuesday, targeting a Hamas commander, are part of the "terrible nature" of the conflict.
Asked by Sky News whether Israel has broken international law with the strikes, he said: "Hamas is a terrorist organisation that has murdered in cold blood over 1,000 innocent Israeli men, women and children, and now seeks to hide amongst the civilian population. This is a very difficult conflict.
"We continue to urge the Israeli government to abide by international law. I believe that the Israeli government is continuing to do so against an enemy that hides among civilians."
It comes as Israeli forces targeted Jabalia refugee camp again on Wednesday - for the second time in 24 hours.
The military said the strike killed another Hamas commander, after previously saying Tuesday's attack had killed commander Ibrahim Biari, who it says was one of the leaders of the October 7 attacks in Israel.
Some 50 people died and at least 150 were wounded in the first strike, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.
There have been no immediate reports on casualties from Wednesday, but footage showed smoke billowing over the camp and people sifting through piles of rubble and carrying away the injured.
The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 8,525, according to the Hamas officials. In the occupied West Bank, more than 122 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.
Labour called for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to set up an appeal for Gaza, matched by taxpayer funding.
Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy and shadow cabinet development minister Lisa Nandy were in Cairo for talks about the crisis.
Mr Lammy said: "There is an urgent need to alleviate humanitarian suffering in Gaza and a DEC appeal with Government backing would help galvanise the public's efforts to help those in need.
"We must also begin to plan for the large-scale reconstruction that will be required for the people of Gaza to live in peace and dignity.
"In the long term, there can only be a political solution based on a two-state solution."
