The Jewish state benefited from cloud services and AI tools provided by the US tech giant, according to leaked documents
The Israeli military relied heavily on Microsoft technology throughout its campaign against Hamas in Gaza, The Guardian reported on Thursday, citing leaked documents. Israel has been repeatedly accused of war crimes and indiscriminate strikes on civilians in the Palestinian enclave.
Microsoft considerably boosted its ties with the defense establishment of the Jewish state after Hamas launched a surprise attack on the country in October 2023, according to an investigation by the British paper, +972 Magazine, and the Local Call Hebrew-language website. The report was based on commercial records from the Israeli Defense Ministry and files from Microsoft’s Israeli subsidiary.
As a result, the US tech giant reportedly provided Israel with thousands of hours of technical support, along with expanded computing and storage services.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is said to have used Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform across its air, ground, and naval units, the report claimed, adding that the service has been directly used to support combat and intelligence activities.
Additionally, the Israeli Air Force’s Ofek unit reportedly used Microsoft’s communications tools to manage so-called “target banks” for potential lethal strikes.
Through Microsoft, the Israeli military was also granted large-scale access to OpenAI’s GPT-4 model, according to leaked documents. Microsoft’s services were also reportedly instrumental in maintaining the so-called “Rolling Stone” system used by security forces to monitor Palestinian movement in the West Bank and Gaza.
According to the investigation, the IDF’s cloud usage increased by 60% during the first six months of the Hamas war compared to the months leading up to it. Between October 2023 and June 2024, Israel struck a deal to buy 19,000 hours of support services from Microsoft, with the collaboration earning the tech giant around $10 million in fees, the report claimed.
Moreover, the investigation suggested that much of the AI-based services were used while being isolated from the internet, meaning they could have been used for even more sensitive military operations.
Both IDF and Microsoft declined to comment on the matter, with OpenAI insisting it does not cooperate with the Israeli military, The Guardian wrote.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has resulted in over 1,700 Israeli and 47,000 Palestinian deaths, according to officials from both sides.
After Israel launched its military operation in Gaza, it has repeatedly been accused of war crimes, with Amnesty International classifying its actions as “genocide” and the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. West Jerusalem has denied the allegations, insisting that its military action in Gaza was purely self-defense.
Earlier this month, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement that included the gradual release of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners, with the deal intended to pave the way for West Jerusalem’s withdrawal from the enclave.
