Israel's AI-driven warfare: How technology shapes Israel's defense strategies against Hamas

Report by Lara El Hachem, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

Israel's smartest weapon is perhaps its technology, which utilizes artificial intelligence. Israel engages in military and intelligence warfare in Lebanon and Gaza, giving it an edge over its adversaries. 

This continuous development was underscored by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Washington.

On X, Netanyahu mentioned that the meeting explored opportunities and challenges of AI and discussed technological cooperation with Israel.

While Israel collaborated with Tesla, Hamas is also engaging in the technological war. 

According to the German newspaper Zeit, Hamas has compiled more than 2,000 files on Israeli soldiers, each containing the soldier's name, birthdate, national ID number, phone number, email address, and names of close associates. This information could be used to track, deceive, threaten, or manipulate them.

Does this information constitute a significant breach in the realm of AI?

The data collection began in December 2023 and was made public under the slogan "Revenge for the Killers of Gaza's Children." This is part of the psychological warfare between Israel and Hamas amid reports of Iranian technology benefiting from Russian expertise.

Although Hamas is technologically advanced, experts agree it still lags far behind Israel. The spokesperson for the Israeli army acknowledged that cyber warfare is a fully-fledged battlefront, noting that the army recently "thwarted Hamas' attempts to gather information on the military and its soldiers."

Thus, from Lebanon to Israel and Gaza, wars are fought with various weapons, and the winner is the one who evolves their intelligence in step with the advancing clock.