Israel uses artificial intelligence as an ally to track Hamas in Gaza

The Israeli army deployed for the first time in its offensive in Loop, a new military technology based on artificial intelligence (IA), which serves mainly to thwart attacks and locate the underground tunnels of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

The first allusion to this technology was made by army spokesman Daniel Hagari when he declared last month that Israeli forces operated “simultaneously above and below ground.”

In particular, the AI helps the Israeli army map the vast network of underground tunnels in Hamas in Loopa senior defense official told AFP.

These new tools represent a ray of hope for the Israeli technology industry, burdened by war. In 2022, the sector represented 18% of the Gross Domestic Product.

But since the start of the conflict on October 7, around 8% of its workforce has been mobilized to fight.

”The war in Loop In general, it brings with it threats, but also opportunities to test emerging technologies on the ground,” says Avi Hasson, CEO of Startup Nation Central, an Israeli technology incubator.

”Both on the battlefield and in hospitals, some of the technologies used in this war had never been used before,” he says.

However, they did nothing to prevent the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in Looprecalls Mary Wareham, a weapons expert at the NGO Human Rights Watch.

In December, more than 150 countries supported a resolution of the UN which identifies “serious challenges and concerns” in new military technologies, including “artificial intelligence and autonomy in weapons systems.”

– Track drones –

The war in Gaza was unleashed on October 7 when Islamist militiamen from Hamas They killed more than 1,160 people, mostly civilians, in an attack on Israeli soil, and kidnapped around 250, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli figures.

In response, Israel promised to “annihilate” Hamas and launched a vast military offensive in the Gaza Stripwhich has already killed 27,947 people, mainly women and minors, according to the Palestinian movement, which has governed the enclave since 2007.

Like many other current conflicts, this war has been marked by the proliferation of low-cost drones, which make air attacks easier.

Hamas uses many of these devices to deliver explosives.

Israelwhose Iron Dome defense system intercepts rockets and missiles, has found a new technology to shoot them down: an optical sight equipped with AImanufactured by the Israeli startup Smart Shooter and placed in rifles or submachine guns.

”It helps our forces intercept drones,” since “it turns any soldier, even blind, into an elite sniper,” estimates the senior defense official.

– World leader –

Israel also use the AI to map the countless tunnels where, according to IsraelHamas militants hide and hold hostages.

An underground network so large that the Israeli army has called it “the subway of Loop”.

At least 1,300 tunnels extend over more than 500 kilometers, according to a recent study by the US military academy West Point.

To map them, Israel uses drones with AI that can go underground, especially a model made by Israeli startup Robotican, encapsulated in a robotic box.

It’s used in Loop “to penetrate the tunnels and see as far as the connection allows,” according to the senior Israeli defense official.

Although the conflict raises numerous doubts regarding respect for human rights, it has allowed Israel reinforce its status as a world leader in the manufacture of cutting-edge defense systems.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that USAmain ally of Israel and which provides billions of dollars in military aid each year, is training its soldiers to shoot down drones with the help of Smart Shooter technology.