Not Just Google: Microsoft Also was Involved in Israel’s Gaza Military Campaign
Microsoft was integrated in the Israeli defense establishment's efforts in Gaza after October 7, the British Guardian reveals; Documents indicate that IDF used the company's products and services, including its cloud and AI technologies
A day after the Washington Post revealed the cooperation between Google and the Israeli Defense Ministry and the IDF after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, new leaked documents that reached the British Guardian reveal that Microsoft was also integrated into the Israeli war effort, in order to meet the growing demand for cloud-based tools and Artificial Intelligence.
The documents show that the IDF’s reliance on Microsoft’s cloud and Artificial Intelligence technologies surged significantly during the most intense phase of fighting and bombing in Gaza, likely in light of the growing need for target analysis and decision-making.
Technology in the service of war
The documents, which were revealed as part of an investigation by The Guardian in collaboration with the Israeli websites Mekomit and +972 Magazine, provide a rare glimpse into the ever-deepening integration of American technologies into the Israeli defense system. The documents indicate transactions worth at least $10 million, which included thousands of hours of technical support from Microsoft and increased use of the Azure cloud platform by the Israeli defense establishment.
The documents, which include evidence from the Defense Ministry’s commercial activities and documents from Microsoft’s branch in Israel, indicate that the company’s products and services were used by a variety of IDF units, including the Air Force, Navy and Intelligence Branch. The Azure platform was used for administrative needs, such as email and file management, as well as to support combat and intelligence activities.
At the same time, Microsoft worked closely with the Intelligence Branch, including Unit 8200, on sensitive and classified projects. In recent years, the company has also given the IDF access to OpenAI’s GPT-4 artificial intelligence model, as part of a change in the company’s policy, which allows work with security agencies.
According to the report, after the Hamas attack the IDF faced a dramatic increase in demand for storage and computing power. According to security sources, Microsoft became a critical partner that provided the IDF with advanced infrastructure and enabled it to analyze and manage vast amounts of information in real time.
Close cooperation with Google
On Wednesday, the Washington Post revealed the cooperation between Google, the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the IDF during the campaign in Gaza, which began in October 2023. The documents show how the company granted access to its advanced artificial intelligence technologies to security agencies, contrary to its public statements trying to distance itself from military uses of its technology.
The collaboration began with the Nimbus Cloud project, which was signed in 2021 for billions of dollars, and was intended to move Israeli government ministries into a new technological era through advanced cloud services, including data storage and processing. As part of the contract, Google and Amazon established data centers in Israel and developed dedicated services for government use, including for the security system.
Although Google previously stated that the contract is not intended for sensitive or classified military uses, the documents showed that after the Hamas attack, Google employees worked to give the defense establishment access to advanced services such as Vertex, a platform that enables data analysis and the execution of artificial intelligence algorithms for customized needs.
The documents also revealed that the IDF has used AI technologies to improve its capabilities on the battlefield. Gemini was designed to provide commanders with a list of potential targets, based on the analysis of data such as intercepted communications, satellite imagery and other intelligence.
Built on hundreds of algorithms, Gemini allowed for extremely rapid analysis of data and the production of coordinates of targets, such as rocket launch sites and tunnels. However, senior IDF officials expressed concerns about overreliance on the system, especially regarding the accuracy and ability of the technology to replace traditional human analysis.
The digital security market
In any case, the latest leaked documents highlight a global trend in which technology companies are not just service providers, but strategic partners in military operations and even involved in various geopolitical conflicts.
In Israel, the cooperation between the IDF and American companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google indicates the growing security need for advanced technologies in the digital age, which is intended, among other things, to maintain Israel’s strategic and security superiority.
