Leaked internal documents indicate that Microsoft has become a leading supplier of cloud services and artificial intelligence (AI) to the Israeli military, with its involvement expanding significantly following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 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 totaling about $10 million since the Gaza attacks began.
Microsoft has yet to publicly confirm or deny the report, and it has not responded to Anadolu Agency's (AA) request 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% between June 2023 and April 2024, peaking just before the Rafah offensive in May 2024.
Microsoft's most utilized services include translation tools and Azure OpenAI, accounting for nearly 75% of total military usage.
Reports about AI-targeted technologies like Lavender, which analyzes 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."
The 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 defense partnerships with Israel.
The documents highlight a broader trend of tech companies supporting military operations, echoing similar revelations about Google's AI assistance to Israeli defense forces.
The total value of Microsoft's contract with the Israeli Defense Ministry has not been disclosed, but documents suggest it goes far beyond the reported support costs.
Asked by AA to clarify the extent of the relationship with Microsoft, the Israeli Defense Ministry said: "We will not comment on this matter."
