Israeli peace activist and Hamas official, Gershon Baskin and Ghazi Hamad, have ended their secret friendship of 17 years following the October 7 massacre. The two had maintained a backchannel to share frustrations and learn more about the other side, but Hamad's public endorsement of the atrocities and call for more led to the termination of their relationship. Baskin and Hamad were originally put in touch to help secure the release of a kidnapped Israeli soldier in 2006. Their friendship survived rounds of violence and helped resolve several conflicts, but Hamad's recent hardline interview led to its end.