Cairo: Egypt released 34 Palestinian prisoners that were detained after crossing the border from Gaza into Egypt, an Egyptian security official said on Sunday.

Egypt officials detained an unknown number of Palestinians who stormed the Gaza-Egypt border in January, saying that they were carrying weapons or other contraband material. 

A Hamas spokesman said earlier that he expected the prisoners to be freed during the day.

The border was closed after the region was seized by Hamas militants last June.

Hundreds of thousands of Gazans fled into Egypt when Hamas militants blew open the border in January.