Thousands of Palestinians continued to cross into Egypt for the fourth consecutive day despite the authorities’ efforts to seal the border with Gaza.

A United Nations report said more than 700.000 people from the Hamas-ruled salient took advantage of the free passage and bought needed supplies from the neighboring country over the past days.

With only two Egyptian border guards present at the main crossing, thousands of Palestinians streamed into Egypt Saturday after Egyptian attempts to reseal the border failed Friday, the BBC reported.

Many Palestinians were using cars to cross, rather than traveling on foot, and some Egyptian vehicles were seen taking supplies into Gaza, the BBC said.

The Palestinians, aided by a bulldozer and explosives from the Islamist group Hamas, breached the border Wednesday in defiance of an Israeli blockade which had led to acute shortages of food and fuel.

Late Friday, the United Nations Security Council failed to reach agreement on a resolution of what it called a state of "deep concern" about the situation, the BBC reported.

Both Israel and the United States said militants could use this opportunity to enter the strip undetected and smuggle weapons, urging the Egyptian authorities to close the border.