Digital Killing: Israel Harnesses AI as a Tool of War in Gaza
Ankara - Anadolu
Published: Tuesday, July 7, 2026 - 10:13 AM | Last Updated: Tuesday, July 7, 2026 - 10:13 AM
– Systems relying on massive data, facial recognition, and behavioral analysis to identify targets – Amid warnings about employing technology in mass killing and impunity
The Israeli occupation army's reliance on artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing in killing and genocide operations in the Gaza Strip has demonstrated how technologies originally developed to serve humanity and its welfare can turn into tools for digital killing, genocide, and mass surveillance.
As the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip enters its thousandth day, reliance on artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing has become a key component in managing Israeli military operations, parallel to expanding its attacks to also include Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iran, and Qatar.
This use is based on technologies developed by global tech companies, which provided platforms for data analysis, facial recognition, and cloud computing, sparking increasing criticism about the role of artificial intelligence in targeting operations and civilian casualties.
Anadolu Agency monitored the mechanisms of the Israeli occupation army's use of artificial intelligence in the Palestinian territories, and how these technologies have turned into tools for mass surveillance and target identification, along with reviewing the most prominent systems and companies involved in this field.
From Data to Military Targets
In traditional wars, target identification often relies on information collected by military units in the field, but in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip, the process has moved to a more technical level, where field and digital data are integrated into unified intelligence systems before being transformed into inputs for military decision-making.
The US-backed Civil-Military Coordination Center plays a role in this path, by linking Israeli field operations with digital intelligence networks, integrating satellite images, biometric data, drone signals, and communication logs into a single database, processed by AI systems before sending results to military units.
The "Maven" platform, owned by the American company Palantir, plays a pivotal role in integrating information from multiple intelligence sources, turning the target identification process into a semi-automated system.
Meanwhile, Dataminer, backed by the US Central Intelligence Agency, provides real-time risk analysis based on data extracted from social media platforms.
Thus, data collected from multiple field and digital sources is transformed into real-time information and analyses that support Israeli army operations, while this system relies on a technical infrastructure provided by global companies such as Palantir and Dataminer to enhance Israeli operational capabilities.
But the military value of this data lies not only in its collection but in transforming it into targets that can be struck. Here begins the more controversial role of AI systems, which not only analyze information but also contribute to guiding targeting decisions.
From "Algorithm Errors" to Civilian Massacres
Multiple reports indicate Israel's use of the "Lavender" and "Where's Daddy?" systems, based on artificial intelligence and used in target identification operations inside Gaza.
Although the names of the two systems suggest they are civilian applications, they are used to continuously track thousands of Palestinians and analyze their data within a digital system that supports targeting operations.
The "Where's Daddy?" system tracks individuals until they reach their homes or workplaces, then sends a notification to Israeli forces when they enter, allowing the targeting of buildings where they are located, regardless of the presence of other civilians.
The "Lavender" system analyzes large amounts of data to build estimates about the likelihood of Palestinians being linked to Hamas or other groups, then presents these results for targeting decisions.
Reports indicate that Palantir, co-founded by Alex Karp, is behind the development or support of this system, and Karp previously described himself as one of the most pro-Israel CEOs.
Karp said that Israeli demand for advanced technologies rose significantly after October 2023, and that the company began providing Israel with products it had not previously supplied.
In January 2024, Palantir signed a strategic partnership agreement with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and officials at the Ministry of Defense, and the company acknowledged that it provides the Israeli army with custom technologies to support war-related targeting operations.
In the field of surveillance, Israel uses drones manufactured by the American company Easy Aerial, along with facial recognition technologies developed by the Israeli company Elbit Systems, to monitor borders, verify Palestinian identities, and track their movements.
These systems enable the building of massive databases that are continuously updated, enhancing the Israeli army's capabilities in surveillance, analysis, and management of its military operations.
Human rights advocates believe that this use of artificial intelligence raises legal and ethical questions, as it allows Israel to justify civilian casualties as a result of "algorithm errors," helping it evade legal responsibility.
Cloud Computing: A Tool for Surveillance and Governance
The digital system is not limited to AI applications but also relies on a cloud computing infrastructure that enables large-scale data collection, storage, and analysis.
"Project Nimbus," signed by Google and Amazon with the Israeli government in April 2021 for $1.2 billion, is one of the most prominent projects that provided this infrastructure for Israeli government and military institutions.
The project included building cloud computing centers that allow data storage on internet-connected servers, along with providing advanced services in AI and machine learning, enabling Israel to collect and process massive amounts of data within its digital infrastructure.
Leaked documents indicate that the Google Cloud platform provides Israel with tools for facial recognition, automatic image classification, tracking people and objects, and analyzing emotions, behavior, and facial expressions based on images and audio recordings.
The "AutoML" system, one of the AI tools within the platform, can analyze large amounts of data simultaneously, including Palestinian detainee records, attack plans, and reconnaissance reports, to build scenarios and suggest target coordinates in preparation for targeting operations.
The role of this system is not limited to analyzing field data but extends to examining written documents, monitoring content classified as "anti-Israel," and analyzing live feeds from street cameras and drones, enabling real-time tracking of people and objects.
These capabilities reveal that Israel does not use cloud computing technologies merely as a means of data storage, but as an AI-powered platform to analyze vast amounts of information and directly employ the results in military planning and decision-making.
A Thousand Days of Digital Killing
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks, backed by artificial intelligence, have turned into a large-scale ethnic cleansing and genocide operation, directly affecting more than 2.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
During this period, Israel occupied more than 80% of the Strip's area and used over 223,000 tons of explosives, leading to mass destruction that affected about 90% of civilian infrastructure.
According to Palestinian data, the number of bodies that reached hospitals reached 73,066, the majority of whom were civilians, including more than 21,500 children and more than 12,500 women.
The war also left more than 173,514 injured, along with the complete extermination of thousands of families and their removal from the civil registry, amid a near-total collapse of the health system and education sector.
- Related tags: Israel / Artificial Intelligence / Gaza
