Leaked papers reveal Microsoft's deep links with Israel during Gaza war

Leaked internal documents reveal that Microsoft has come out as a major provider of cloud services and artificial intelligence (AI) to the Israeli military, with support increasing dramatically since the war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023.

According to documents obtained by Drop Site News, Israel has emerged as one of Microsoft's top global partners, with engineering support and consultancy costs totalling about $10 million since the Gaza war began.

Microsoft has yet to publicly confirm or deny the report, and it has not responded to requests for comment.

With additional support projects worth $30 million under consideration in 2024, the total size of Israel's contract with the tech company, which is expected to be much larger, could not be determined from the documents.

The Israeli military's use of Microsoft services has seen unprecedented growth, with cloud storage usage jumping over 155 percent between June 2023 and April 2024, peaking just before the Rafah invasion in May 2024.

Microsoft's most utilised services include translation tools and Azure OpenAI, accounting for nearly 75 percent of total military usage.

'Gold rush'

Reports about AI-targeted technologies like Lavender, which analyses data on approximately 2.3 million Gaza residents to identify potential Hamas connections, are particularly concerning.

According to Tel Aviv-based +972 media reports, the system initially identified approximately 37,000 Palestinians as "suspects".

Israel's war in Gaza has sparked what can be described as a "gold rush" among technology companies seeking military contracts, with Microsoft offering significant discounts to secure defence partnerships with Israel.

The documents highlight a broader trend of tech companies supporting military offensives, echoing similar revelations about Google's AI assistance to the Israeli army.

The total value of Microsoft's contract with the Israeli Defence Ministry has not been disclosed, but documents suggest it goes far beyond the reported support costs.

Asked to clarify the extent of the relationship with Microsoft, Israel Defence Ministry said: "We will not comment on this matter."