 The operation did not succeed in finding Shalit.Unofficial talks between Israel and Hamas began on 1 July 2006, six days after the abduction of Schalit by Gershon Baskin, an Israeli peace activist, co-director of the Israeli-Palestinian think tank IPCRI - the Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information.On that day, Baskin arranged a telephone conversation between Hamas Government spokesman Dr. Ghazi Hamad and Noam Schalit, the father of the soldier.