In leaked audio recordings, the Israeli prime minister can be heard criticizing Doha over its role in negotiating the release of Hamas prisoners.
Families of Israelis held captive in Gaza have said they deny being behind the leaked audio in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Qatar's role in talks with Hamas over the prisoners' release.
“All conversations that take place in meetings with the prime minister are recorded by his office and his staff present at the meeting,” Haim Rubinstein, a spokesman for the families, said Thursday in a statement quoted in Israeli media.
“The families attending the meeting had their phones taken away at the entrance,” he said, adding that the leak was a “serious problem that indicates a loss of control.”
His comments came a day after the Prime Minister's Office blamed the leak on a family member.
Israeli media portal Walla on Thurdsay reported that the prime minister's office doubled down on its blame on the families, saying it had evidence in the form of a text message from one of its members present at the meeting.
“The girl next to me had a phone, it's a shame I didn't tip her off,” the message said, according to Walla.
In the audio recording that sparked the controversy, broadcast on Israel's Channel 12 on Tuesday, Netanyahu is heard saying that Qatar's involvement in the release of prisoners was “problematic.”
He also blamed Qatar for funding Hamas and expressed anger at the US decision to expand its military base presence in the Gulf state.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari responded to the remarks by saying he was “horrified.”
About 240 people were captured by Hamas militants when they launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,139 people, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics.
Israel responded with a devastating bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza that has displaced more than 80 percent of the population and reduced much of the territory to rubble. Palestinian officials say at least 25,700 people were killed and more than 63,000 injured in the Israeli attack.
After lengthy negotiations between Qatar and the United States, more than 100 of the prisoners were released in late November in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons while Israel and Hamas observed a week-long ceasefire.
The Gulf state remains involved in talks aimed at reaching a new deal to release around 130 prisoners still held by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.
Al-Ansari said Netanyahu's leaked comments were detrimental to those efforts.
“If the reported statements prove to be true, the Israeli prime minister would only obstruct and undermine the mediation process for reasons that appear to serve his political career instead of prioritizing saving innocent lives, including Israeli hostages,” he said.