top line
A report in an Israeli magazine alleging that Israel is using artificial intelligence programs to identify potential targets in its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip (Israel denies this claim) specifically targets the Israeli military. In response to the murder of World by , it has attracted harsh attention from world leaders. Aid workers in the central kitchen in what Israel called a “grave mistake.”
important facts
The report, by magazine +972 and Hebrew news outlet Local Call, says Israel has used “Lavender” to identify up to 37,000 Palestinians and their residences with potential ties to Hamas. It cites six Israeli intelligence officers who claimed to have used a program called . Military targets with little human oversight.
On Friday, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres He said he was “deeply troubled” by reports that Israel was using artificial intelligence to identify targets in densely populated residential areas, calling “life-or-death decisions” “the cold calculations of algorithms.” It should not be entrusted to them,” he added.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told CNN on Thursday that the United States has not independently verified the report, but officials are looking into it.
The report has also raised concerns from experts.Adil HaqFor example, a Rutgers University law professor tweeted that the report was “every international humanitarian lawyer's nightmare come true.”
However, the Israel Defense Forces has strongly pushed back against this report, denying that it uses artificial intelligence to identify targets, but rather that it uses a number of tools in its “target identification process” and that suspected targets are He argued that analysts must draw their own conclusions as to whether there is a
What did the report say?
The +972 report alleges that Israel used an AI system to create a list of thousands of Palestinian targets, with little oversight to ensure the system's decisions were accurate. According to +972, the IDF then allegedly used additional automated systems to target suspects in their homes, increasing the number of civilian casualties. The report also claimed that Israeli authorities found it acceptable to kill 15 to 20 civilians per target. Ben Saul The University of Sydney professor, who is the UN's independent expert on human rights and counter-terrorism, said Israel could be responsible for war crimes “if true”.
Contra
In a lengthy response to the Guardian newspaper, which also had access to testimonies from sources who spoke to +972, the IDF said that the system referred to in the report was “just a database intended to cross-reference information sources. There is,” he said. To create up-to-date information on military operatives of terrorist organizations. ” The Israel Defense Forces stated that for each target, the potential collateral damage of an individual attack must be assessed, stating that “if the expected collateral damage from an attack is excessive compared to the military advantage; “The Israel Defense Forces will not carry out any attacks.” The IDF insists it follows all international laws and “completely rejects claims regarding policies that kill tens of thousands of people in their own homes.”
Main background
Israel's military policy has come under intense international scrutiny in recent days following a strike that killed several World Central Kitchen aid workers. The organization's founder, celebrity chef José Andrés, accused Israel of “systematically” targeting vehicles carrying workers. The IDF released a preliminary investigation into the attack on Friday, calling it a “grave mistake” and claiming that it believed Israeli forces were targeting Hamas operatives. President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to discuss Israel's war with Hamas, which began after Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took hundreds hostage in an Oct. 7 attack on Israel. He called on Japan to make further efforts to protect civilians. Since then, 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, most of them believed to be civilians, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
References