Families of Israelis held captive in Gaza have said denied they were behind the leak of audio in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised Qatar’s role in talks with Hamas over the release of the captives.
“All conversations that take place in meetings with the Prime Minister are recorded by his office and his associates present at the meeting,” Haim Rubinstein, a spokesperson for the families, said on Thursday in a statement cited on Israeli media.
“The families participating in the meeting had their phones taken at the entrance,” he said, adding that the leak was a “grave issue that indicates a loss of control”.
His comment came a day after the prime minister’s office blamed one of the family members for the leak.
Israeli media outlet Walla on Thurdsay reported that the prime minister’s office doubled down on blaming the families, saying that it has evidence in the form of a text message from one of their 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 reads, according to Walla.
In the audio that triggered the controversy, which was aired on Tuesday by Israeli Channel 12, Netanyahu is heard saying that Qatar’s involvement in the release of captives was “problematic”.
He also blamed Qatar for financing Hamas and said he was upset at a decision by the United States to extend the presence of a military base in the Gulf state.
Majed Al-Ansari, the spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, responded to the remarks saying he was “appalled”.
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