Microsoft Ends Services to the Israeli Military
Microsoft has terminated the Israeli military’s access to Azure cloud storage and certain AI services used to operate a powerful surveillance system that collected millions of Palestinian civilian phone calls each day in Gaza and the West Bank.
The company told Israeli officials late last week that Unit 8200, the military’s elite spy agency, had violated its terms of service by storing the vast trove of surveillance data on Azure. Unit 8200 used its own expansive surveillance capabilities to intercept and collect the calls, then retained the data in a customised, segregated area within Azure for extended analysis using AI-driven techniques.
The system was initially designed to collect and analyze the daily phone calls of roughly 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank. However, according to intelligence sources, the same platform was also used in Gaza operations to help prepare targets for airstrikes. Leaked reports published in January indicated that Israel had relied more heavily on Azure and AI systems during its peak military operations in Gaza.