Microsoft Ends Israeli Military’s Access to Cloud Services Over Mass Surveillance Program

Microsoft has cut off the Israeli military’s access to its cloud and AI services used for a mass surveillance program that intercepted millions of Palestinian phone calls in Gaza and the West Bank.

The decision followed an internal review revealing that Unit 8200, Israel’s elite signals intelligence agency, used Microsoft’s Azure platform to store and analyze intercepted communications, violating Microsoft’s terms of service that ban mass surveillance of civilians.

This is the first known instance of a US tech company halting services to the Israeli military since the 2023 Gaza campaign began. However, the move only affects Unit 8200’s use of specific Azure services and does not impact Microsoft’s broader relationship with the Israeli Defence Forces.

Unit 8200 developed a system within Azure capable of capturing and analyzing up to a million calls per hour. Initially, intercepted data was stored in Microsoft’s Dutch data centers before recently moving to other providers.

The surveillance, which began focusing on the West Bank, was later used in Gaza to support airstrike preparations.

The decision comes amid rising international scrutiny of Israel’s military actions. A UN commission has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, a charge Israel denies. Local officials estimate more than 60,000 Palestinians, many women and children, have died since the war began.