Israeli Finance Minister and member of the Israeli Security and Political Cabinet Bezalel Smotrich said that Qatar is responsible for the attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, and that the West's stance towards it is hypocritical.

According to the newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth," the Israeli minister accused Qatar of supporting terrorism, saying, "Qatar is a state that supports and finances terrorism and is a sponsor of Hamas."

He added: "Doha is largely responsible for the massacre carried out by Hamas against Israeli civilians. The West's stance towards it is hypocritical and based on unacceptable economic interests. The West can force it to use much stronger influence and immediately release the hostages."

Smotrich’s statements come after Doha declared that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is undermining mediation efforts to release the hostages "for political reasons."

Today, Wednesday, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its strong condemnation of the Israeli Prime Minister's statements in various media reports about Qatari mediation.

Al-Ansari said: "If the circulating statements are proven correct, then the Israeli Prime Minister is obstructing and undermining mediation efforts for narrow political reasons instead of prioritizing saving lives, including the lives of Israeli hostages."

Official Israeli media outlets reported leaks of an audio recording of Netanyahu during his meeting with the families of prisoners held in Gaza, in which he said that Qatar’s role in mediation for a swap deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas" poses more problems than the United Nations and the Red Cross.

Netanyahu also expressed his strong anger towards the Americans, after they renewed their contract regarding the military base they have in Qatar," believing that "this could have remained a means of pressure for the return of the abductees, because Qatar has the ability to pressure Hamas."