Microsoft’s Azure Platform Used for Surveillance of Palestinians
A recent investigation by The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call has unveiled that Israel’s Unit 8200, an elite cyber-intelligence division, has utilized Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform to store and analyze millions of intercepted phone calls from Palestinians. This raises significant ethical and legal questions regarding Microsoft’s involvement in the ongoing conflict in Gaza, reports 24brussels.
Leaked documents and insider interviews indicate that the surveillance system, operational since 2022, collects as many as one million calls per hour from the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The data is housed in Microsoft data centers located in the Netherlands and Ireland, within a customized and segregated area of Azure developed with direct input from engineers at Unit 8200.
Insiders claim that this system has been employed to guide airstrikes, justify arrests, and even enable blackmail. Intercepted communications are often used as justification for military operations in areas populated by civilians. One insider candidly stated, “When they need to arrest someone and there isn’t a good enough reason, that’s where they find the excuse.”
The investigation highlights a 2021 meeting where Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and former Unit 8200 commander Yossi Sariel discussed technical support for transferring Israeli military intelligence to Azure. Microsoft asserts that Nadella was unaware of the nature of the data and that an internal review revealed no evidence of Azure being used to harm civilians.
However, new evidence suggests that Microsoft engineers were involved in developing security layers for the surveillance setup, allowing the transfer of over 11,500 terabytes of data—equivalent to 200 million hours of audio. Additionally, the company allegedly supplied AI tools designed to flag suspicious content and assign risk scores, which feed into predictive targeting systems.
The response to these revelations has been swift and severe. Microsoft employees have protested, and shareholders are demanding a human rights due diligence report. Critics have accused the company of complicity in violations of international law, including the Genocide Convention, amid an Israeli military campaign that has resulted in the deaths of over 61,000 Palestinians, predominantly women and children.
In reaction, Hamas has called for global protests from August 8 to 10, urging demonstrations outside Israeli and U.S. embassies and institutions associated with the occupation. The organization praised recent international mobilizations, demanding that border crossings be opened to facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza, where over two million people are facing famine, bombardment, and displacement.
