Israel has spent more than a decade developing its "AI factory," a system used to support its military attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, The Washington Post reported.
Citing multiple sources familiar with Israel's use of artificial intelligence in Gaza, the daily reported that Israel has been advancing AI technology for over 10 years to target locations in Gaza more efficiently.
Some sources, including former Israeli military personnel, expressed concern that the Israeli military's use of AI has significantly increased civilian casualties.
The report reveals that AI systems, including "Gospel" and "Lavender," processed intelligence at an unprecedented pace, enabling the Israeli military to bomb 12,000 targets in Gaza in weeks.
Soldiers worked in what was described as a "target factory," prioritizing speed over intelligence assessment and reducing the time needed for evaluation to as little as three minutes.
The technology became more prominent in 2020 under the leadership of Yossi Sariel, Israeli military's Intelligence Unit 8200.
In a 2021 book, Sariel, who had studied in the US, said that AI could use digital traces to create "target databases" with information on suspects' names, locations, and movements.
Sariel, a strong proponent of AI, became head of Unit 8200 after returning to Israel in 2020. However, sources speaking to the Post raised concerns about his "blind devotion" to AI. Israeli columnist Ben Caspit noted that intelligence units were not sharing information with soldiers on the ground.
To resolve this, Mossad and Unit 8200 developed a centralized "pool" for military intelligence, according to The Washington Post report.
Sariel pushed this initiative further, supporting a restructuring at Israel's Nevatim Airbase, where military commanders referred to the reorganization as "AI factories."
In response, the Israeli military invested in cloud technologies to support its operations against Hezbollah, with soldiers gaining direct access to intelligence data through an app, called "Hunter."
Unit 8200 also helped develop a "target bank" containing the coordinates and even apartment numbers of Hamas and Hezbollah.
Sources familiar with the program say findings needed to be verified by two independent sources and updated constantly.
Israel's intelligence unit trained AI to create new target databases. Billions of signals were gathered from drones, fighter jets, and seismic sensors, which were then cross-referenced with phone numbers, social media profiles, and other data.
In an interview with +972 and Local Call, intelligence officers in Tel Aviv revealed that Israel developed several AI tools, including "Lavender," "Gospel," and "Alchemist," for target identification.
A former Israeli military official described the change, saying: "The man was replaced by the machine."
These AI systems have been used in Israel's attacks on Gaza, which have caused more than 45,000 deaths, most of them women and children.
Tel Aviv has imposed a stifling blockade on Gaza, leaving the territory's entire population on the verge of famine.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
