Below are the main developments in relations between Egypt and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt never recognised Hamas's rule in Gaza after it forcibly ousted the more moderate Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas from the enclave in 2007.

--2011--

- February 11: Scenes of jubilation across the Gaza Strip after Mubarak's resignation following an 18-day popular uprising.

Under an Israeli blockade since 2006, Gaza is dependent on cooperation from the Cairo authorities at its southern border with Egypt.

- April 27: Post-Mubarak Egypt sponsors a reconciliation accord between the two main Palestinian movements, Fatah and Hamas. The Mubarak regime had attempted mediation between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, on which it had blamed the failure of its reconciliation efforts. The accord, initialled in early May, has not so far been implemented.

- May 28: The permanent reopening of Egypt's Rafah terminal to ease the Israeli blockade of Gaza, where the border passage had previously only been opened in exceptional cases.

- October 19: Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, held for more than five years by Hamas, is freed in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel in the framework of an accord struck under Egyptian mediation.

--2012--

- June 24: Hamas celebrates the victory of Islamist Mohamed Morsi in Egypt's presidential election. Hamas is the Palestinian affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood to which Morsi belongs.

--2013--

- August 14: Hamas condemns the "massacre" of people demonstrating against the removal of Morsi on July 3.

- October 27: A Hamas official says Egypt's closure of tunnels used to smuggle goods into the Gaza Strip has caused monthly losses of $230 million (170 million euros) to its economy.

- December 25: The Egyptian army says it has foiled a plan by Hamas to attack a strategic security building in North Sinai, where militants have increased activity since Morsi's ouster. Hamas denies.

- December 31: Hamas's prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, rejects Egypt's branding of the Brotherhood as a "terrorist" organisation, saying his movement will not abandon its links with the group.

--2014--

- March 4: A Cairo court bans Hamas from operating in Egypt, accusing it of colluding in attacks on its territory in the past few years, and aiding the Brotherhood. Hamas denounces the ban, saying it "serves the Israeli occupation".