Israeli army leverages Amazon, Microsoft and Google cloud services for ops in Gaza

Recent reports by +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language news site Local Call reveal that the Israeli army has been leveraging Amazon’s cloud services and artificial intelligence (AI) tools from Microsoft and Google amid the increasing data influx concerning Palestinians and Gaza.

In an audio recording obtained by the publications, Col. Racheli Dembinsky, commander of the Israeli army’s Center of Computing and Information Systems Unit, disclosed during a July 10 presentation to military and industrial personnel that the army is utilizing these technologies. This marks the first public confirmation of such use.

Technological integration in military ops

Dembinsky’s presentation highlighted the integration of cloud storage and AI services from these tech giants in Israel’s ongoing operations in Gaza since Oct.7.

The presentation slides featured logos of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, underscoring their role in the army’s “operational cloud,” traditionally stored on internal military servers.

She described the internal cloud as a “weapons platform” that includes applications for marking bombing targets, a portal for viewing live drone footage over Gaza, and command-and-control systems.

However, Dembinsky noted that the rapid increase in users following the Israeli army’s ground invasion of Gaza in late October 2023 led to technical challenges that threatened military functions.

Enhanced operational efficiency

Dembinsky emphasized the significant advantages provided by cloud services, including unlimited storage and advanced AI capabilities.

Although she did not specify which services were purchased, the army has stated that classified information and attack systems remain on internal military clouds.

Research by +972 Magazine and Local Call revealed that the Israeli army stores some intelligence gathered from mass surveillance of Gaza’s population on Amazon’s AWS servers.

The findings indicated that since the onset of the war on Gaza; the army has utilized numerous AI capabilities and services from cloud providers.

Project Nimbus, increased cloud procurement

In 2021, Google and Amazon signed a $1.2 billion contract, Project Nimbus, with the Israeli government to facilitate the transfer of ministry information systems to public cloud servers.

Despite employee protests and subsequent dismissals at Google, the Israeli army has significantly increased its procurement of services from Google Cloud, Amazon’s AWS, and Microsoft Azure since October.

Sources within the military and the weapons industry noted that while Microsoft Azure was initially Israel’s primary cloud provider, Amazon has aggressively competed to become the military’s top service provider.

This aggressive competition is reflected in Amazon’s recent close collaborations with security agencies in the U.S., U.K. and Australia.

International cooperation

The collaboration between the Israeli army and major tech companies highlights the growing role of civilian technology in military operations. The implications of such partnerships extend beyond operational efficiency, raising questions about data privacy, ethical considerations, and the broader impact of AI in conflict zones.

Amazon Web Services responded to inquiries stating, “AWS is focused on making the benefits of our world-leading cloud technology available to all our customers, wherever they are located.”

Google and Microsoft declined to comment on the matter.