Microsoft’s Role in Supporting Israeli Military Revealed

Microsoft covert alliance with Israel in Gaza war

Web Desk — Leaked internal documents have revealed that Microsoft has become a significant provider of cloud services and artificial intelligence (AI) support to the Israeli military, with assistance sharply increasing since the conflict in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, according to Anadolu Agency.

The documents, obtained by Drop Site News, show that Israel has become one of Microsoft’s key global partners, with engineering support and consultancy costs amounting to around $10 million since the start of the Gaza attacks.

Microsoft has not publicly confirmed or denied the report nor responded to Anadolu’s request for comment.

Additional projects worth $30 million are reportedly under consideration for 2024, but the total value of Israel’s contract with the tech company, which is expected to be substantially higher, has not been determined from the documents.

The Israeli military’s reliance on Microsoft services has grown significantly, with cloud storage usage increasing by over 155% between June 2023 and April 2024, peaking just before the Rafah offensive in May 2024.

Microsoft’s most used services include translation tools and Azure OpenAI, which account for nearly 75% of total military usage.

One particularly concerning report involves AI technologies such as Lavender, which analyzes data on roughly 2.3 million Gaza residents to identify potential Hamas connections. According to Tel Aviv-based +972 media, the system initially flagged about 37,000 Palestinians as “suspects.”

The ongoing war in Gaza has led to what can be described as a “gold rush” among tech companies vying for military contracts, with Microsoft offering substantial discounts to secure defense partnerships with Israel.

The documents suggest that the total value of Microsoft’s contract with the Israeli Defence Ministry exceeds the reported support costs, reflecting a broader trend of technology companies supporting military operations, as also seen in reports of Google’s AI assistance to Israeli defense forces.