A security official says Egypt will keep its border with Gaza open "indefinitely", easing the blockade on the territory’s Palestinians and giving them a crucial link to the outside the world.

1.5 million Gazans still live under heavy Israel siege while Egypt has insisted on not to opening the only Gaza border crossing in a move condemned the world in protests, leaving Gazans desperate to digging tunnels underground and risking their lives since 2007.

But the official says the closure has failed to achieve its goals, including the release of an Israeli soldier held by Hamas since 2006.

Israel’s deadly raid on an international flotilla of activists trying to break the blockade by sea last week brought attention to the issue.

The Egyptian official spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The security official also said Egyptian construction of an underground barrier on the border with the Gaza Strip will be completed "by the end of the summer,"

"We will close all the tunnels, for sure," the official said in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

"We hope to finish by the end of summer," he said when asked when the construction of the barrier would be completed.

"It's our right, it's legitimate. We will have goods delivered to (Gazans) over ground. It has to happen before our eyes," he said.


Agencies