Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform has been used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) 8200 intelligence unit for gathering almost unlimited intelligence information on Palestinians, including recordings of millions of mobile phone calls in the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria every day, “The Guardian” reports. Microsoft claims that the company was not aware of the use made by the IDF in the region, but the Guardian managed to contact 11 sources at the company and in the IDF 8200 unit, who detailed the use of the cloud services.

Three sources in the IDF 8200 unit told the UK newspaper that the cloud platforms made it easier to prepare airstrikes and other operations in the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria. Intelligence sources said that Unit 8200 had approached Microsoft with a request to expand storage space, with the aim of reaching about a billion recordings in a single hour. The cloud services are installed, according to the report, on Microsoft servers with enhanced security layers, which 8200 demanded from Microsoft.

After “The Guardian” first revealed Israel’s reliance on Microsoft technology in January, the company found no evidence that its software or AI products had been used to harm people. A senior Microsoft official told the newspaper that the company had demanded that Israel not use its technology to identify targets for attacks. But as part of its ongoing use of cloud services, according to the report, Israel has been monitoring potential attack targets based on conversations in the vicinity.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on August 7, 2025.

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