Report exposes Microsoft deepening ties with Israeli military amid Israel's war in Gaza
"Revealed: Microsoft deepened ties with Israeli military to provide tech support during Gaza war", 23 January 2025
The Israeli military’s reliance on Microsoft’s cloud technology and artificial intelligence systems surged during the most intensive phase of its bombardment of Gaza, leaked documents reveal.
The files offer an inside view of how Microsoft deepened its relationship with Israel’s defence establishment after 7 October 2023, supplying the military with greater computing and storage services and striking at least $10m in deals to provide thousands of hours of technical support.
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After launching its offensive in Gaza in October 2023, the IDF faced a sudden rush in demand for storage and computing power, leading it to swiftly expand its computing infrastructure and embrace what one commander described as “the wonderful world of cloud providers”.
As a result, multiple Israeli defence sources said, the IDF has become increasingly dependent on the likes of Microsoft, Amazon and Google to store and analyse greater volumes of data and intelligence information for longer period.
The leaked documents, which include commercial records from Israel’s defence ministry and files from Microsoft’s Israeli subsidiary, suggest Microsoft’s products and services, chiefly its Azure cloud computing platform, were used by units across Israel’s air, ground and naval forces, as well as its intelligence directorate.
While the IDF has used some Microsoft services for administrative purposes, such as email and file management systems, documents and interviews suggest Azure has been used to support combat and intelligence activities.
As a trusted partner of Israel’s defence ministry, Microsoft was frequently tasked with working on sensitive and highly classified projects. Its staff also worked closely with the IDF’s intelligence directorate, including its elite surveillance division, Unit 8200.
In recent years, documents show, Microsoft has also provided the Israeli military with large-scale access to OpenAI’s GPT-4 model – the engine behind ChatGPT – thanks to a partnership with the developer of the AI tools which recently changed its policies against working with military and intelligence clients.
Microsoft declined to comment on the findings of the investigation or answer questions about its work for the IDF. An IDF spokesperson said: “We won’t comment on the subject.” Israel’s defence ministry also declined to comment.
The disclosures about Microsoft’s deep ties to the IDF and the integration of its systems in the war effort illustrate the growth of private-sector involvement in hi-tech warfare and the increasingly blurred distinctions between civilian and military digital infrastructure.
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