Palestinian activists jailed in Egypt have been reunited with their families after liberation from a prison, amid anti-government protests across the North African country.

The activists jailed by the Mubarak regime managed to escape Abu Zaabal prison on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, over the past two days and reached the Gaza Strip through the underground tunnels between Gaza and Egypt, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Motasem al-Goga, one of the detainees, spent seven years in the prison without trial. He was arrested over accusations of belonging to Hamas’ military wing.

"I was able to escape from Abu Zaabal prison with eight of my comrades, Palestinian political detainees, when it was torched during the events there," said Mohammed Abdel-Hadi, another Palestinian detainee.

"So far, six political prisoners who managed to escape from Egyptian prisons have arrived in the Gaza Strip," he went on to say.

The prisoners made their escape when thousands broke out of prisons across Egypt amid nationwide protests which sparked against President Hosni Mubarak’s 30 year rule last Tuesday.

Troubled Egypt shut its crossing with the Gaza Strip on Sunday after the protests spread to the border area.

Many of Gaza’s 1.5 million residents have been closely following the events in Egypt, fearful of facing further economic woes if the border remained shut for any length of time.

Israel with the help of Egypt had imposed a tight embargo on the Gaza Strip in an attempt to weaken Hamas through targeting Gaza’s 1.5 million people.

(Press TV)