Egypt declared a state of emergency and Israel closed its shared border on Monday, citing security concerns, after two church bombings killed at least 44 people.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced the three-month state of emergency - the first in the country since the military overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 - in response to the Palm Sunday attacks claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

In a defiant speech, he warned the war against jihadists "will be long and painful" after he had ordered the army to protect "vital infrastructure".