Netanyahu had also accused the Gulf country of “funding Hamas” – a claim that Doha has repeatedly denied.

The former head of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad Yossi Cohen urged Israeli officials to refrain from publicly criticising Qatar amid ongoing efforts to secure a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.

Cohen, who is also a confidante of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stressed the urgency of reaching a deal, saying that Israel “will have to pay anyway” a high price for any such deal “so let’s pay it today from the start for everyone, and cut down the inhumane time the hostages are spending in Gaza.”

Doha is currently facilitating discussions with the goal of reaching a ceasefire pact between Israel and the Palestinian resistance amidst the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Cohen went on to say that “this is the only country which can bring a deal at the moment. Publicly quarrelling with it is wrong, and we need to act wisely. Any criticism of Qatar at this point in time needs to be stopped.”

This comes as the Israeli prime minister last week said he will not retract his controversial comments regarding Qatar’s mediation role between Hamas and Israel, despite being under increased domestic pressure to reach a deal for another captive release.

Israeli media had reported leaked recordings from a meeting between Netanyahu and the families of captives in Tel Aviv end of January, where he accused Qatar’s mediation between Hamas and Israel of being “problematic”.

Netanyahu had also accused the Gulf country of “funding Hamas” – a claim that Doha has repeatedly denied.

In the audio broadcast by Israeli TV, the Israeli prime minister can be heard telling the families of Israeli captives in Gaza “you don’t hear me thanking Qatar…They have leverage… because they finance [Hamas].”

The inflammatory comments angered the Gulf mediator and the United States, which defended the former’s position as “an integral” regional partner.

In response, Qatar expressed it is “appalled” by the comments, with the spokesman for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr Majed Al Ansari calling Netanyahu’s comments “irresponsible and destructive to the efforts to save innocent lives, but are not surprising.”