Cairo  - Egypt made no pledges to the Israelis that it would link the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit held by Palestinian militants and the opening of the Rafah crossing on its border with the Gaza Strip, an Egyptian official said in remarks published Thursday.

The official denied media reports citing Israeli officials saying that Egypt promised Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert not to open the Rafah border crossing unless Shalit is released by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the pan- Arab daily al-Hayat that the release of Shalit and efforts to end hostilities in the Gaza Strip had been the focus of talks between Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak and Olmert in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday.

But considering the highly sensitive nature of the issues under discussion, Egypt did not want to make any pledges that might influence efforts to secure the release of the soldier.

Shalit was captured by Hamas fighters two years ago in a cross- border raid launched by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip.

Israel and Hamas have agreed an Egyptian-brokered, fragile truce to end hostilities in Gaza. Egypt is conducting more indirect negotiations between both sides to reach a prisoner exchange deal.

The release of Shalit would be part of this deal. (dpa)