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Warfare is being shaped with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Gaza-Israel conflict is not the exception to the rule. Advanced avionic systems, reconnaissance equipment, and pilot-activated smart explosives have altered the whole concept of war with severe consequences for the harmless Gazans. Yes, while some say that more human lives will be saved due to improved accuracy, whereas, in the densely populated urban environment of Gaza, the AI just enhances the already skewed power dynamics and actually increases suffering of civilians. This article aims to look at how and why Israel has embraced AI solutions in the war situation, and in doing so, the region has become a theatre of war where the civilian population from Gaza suffers the most and is exposed to the maximum risk.
Advanced avionic systems, reconnaissance equipment, and pilot-activated smart explosives have altered the whole concept of war with severe consequences for the harmless Gazans.
Also, Israel has been using AI-enabled drones in surveillance and also AI practical application, neutralization missions in Gaza strip. Elbit Systems’ Hermes 900 and IAI Heron drones for instance, can hover for several hours scanning through Gaza population, civil and military activities. Machine learning algorithms are then applied to analyze the huge amounts of information that drones gather, to detect any security risks. Nevertheless, in the case of Gaza strip, the conflict line between the militants and the civilians is very blurred given the fact that both are usually found within the same environment.
Machine learning algorithms are then applied to analyze the huge amounts of information that drones gather, to detect any security risks.
For instance, Israeli airstrikes targeted more than 1500 sites in Gaza, and according to United Nations, it killed 31,184 Palestinians and 72,889 were severely injured till 14 March 2024. Israel alleged that such operations targeted specific militants and was very accurate, but what happened on the ground was very much opposite. Israeli drones that incorporated AI autonomic systems showed that it is targeting the militants, while majority of these people were residential and had no link to the militants or any other organization. Al-Jalaa Tower which was destroyed completely and had media entities, including Al Jazeera and the Associated Press, was another case where the level of AI precision was criticized, and the suffering of civilians and International Media increased. Although Israel said that it targeted only the military compounds of Hamas, but it drew heated condemnation from the world and also questioned the capability of AI to distinguish between the civilians and the militants.
Israeli drones that incorporated AI autonomic systems showed that it is targeting the militants, while majority of these people were residential and had no link to the militants or any other organization.
Additionally, the military of Israel uses Artificial Intelligence guided missile system to carry out many operations and to target the militants in Gaza. Israel has different systems like Spike NLOS (Non-Line of Sight) missile, which can aim at any target from a very long distance with a high level of accuracy. However, due to the dense population of Gaza and due to the inability of the AI to differentiate between the militants and the civilians, most of these targeted strikes are happening on the Civil population of Gaza and this has increased the suffering of the civilians. The strikes launched by Israel on May 2021 against the Al-Wehda Street’s residential building in Gaza killed 42 people, including 10 children. Israel was of view that its AI systems had targeted the building due to its hosting of tunnels used by Hamas militants, but the civilians that were killed in this attack were not connected to any militant organization, although the spiritual deaths pointed to the failure of AI to understand the complex nature of life in Gaza, where militants live within communities. The data obtained from AI was probably crucial to justifying the strike, but AI’s shortcoming in recognizing human pain and differentiating sharply between civilians and combatants led to excessive loss of life.
Moreover, a remarkable degree of efficiency in intercepting rockets from Gaza has been shown by Israel’s Iron Dome, the most advanced AI defense system in the world. For tracking projectiles on their way in, calculating their trajectory, and achieving interception, AI plays a role in the Iron Dome. During the 2021 conflict, the Iron Dome intercepted nearly 90% of the 4,300 rockets that fired from Gaza, thereby defending against tragic deaths and serious building injuries in cities such as Tel Aviv and Ashkelon. Though Israel has the Iron Dome for a powerful defense framework, Gaza does not have any equivalent technology to defend its civilians from airstrikes. This creates an extreme power imbalance, while AI serves to defend Israeli civilians, Gaza’s population remains at risk from airstrikes which AI has precisely directed. Gaza’s highly populated housing areas have no cover from the airstrikes, that Hamas rocket fire triggers in return. According to Human Rights Watch, a large number of the strikes in Gaza have violated International Law by causing greater harm to civilians than to military targets.
Moreover, a remarkable degree of efficiency in intercepting rockets from Gaza has been shown by Israel’s Iron Dome, the most advanced AI defense system in the world.
In Gaza, AI surveillance systems have had a serious psychological effect on the residents of Gaza. Around the clock, AI-driven drones watch the movements of civilians from their unceasing flights above Gaza. Wielding facial recognition technology, these drones watch people and collect a large amount of data. Gaza’s residents now live in a world of dread and anxiety, caused by the knowledge that systems powered by AI are constantly eyeballing, recording, and examining their every activity. A lot of families from Gaza indicate they don’t go outside because they dread leaving their homes, concerned that AI systems might suspect even harmless activities. The stress that is still present has wide psychological outcomes, especially for children who understand they are being monitored by entities that are hidden. The role of AI in military operations usually worsens the crisis for humans, by compromising important infrastructure in Gaza. Israeli forces have destroyed a lot of hospitals, schools and many other civilian structures. Interruptions in water and electricity infrastructure have left most of the population without vital services for multiple years. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) along with Oxfam have repetitively championed global intervention to stop the damage to the infrastructure of Gaza. Dependence on AI in operational military contexts is aggravating the humanitarian crisis, nearly making it impossible for Gaza’s residents to recover.
In order to give relief to civilians in troubled regions, there has to be a significant global requirement for tighter regulations and oversight of AI-backed military technology.
To conclude, though Warfare AI has changed military strategies, it has simultaneously generated major ethical challenges, particularly reminiscent of the case in Gaza-Israel. Although AI supplies both accurate and timely operations, it is also the reason for increased suffering among the civilian population. With militants and civilians occupying the same territory in Gaza, AI systems have proved inadequate at discerning between the two with total certainty. In order to give relief to civilians in troubled regions, there has to be a significant global requirement for tighter regulations and oversight of AI-backed military technology. The continued lack of ethical guidelines means that AI will affect populations like Gaza to a greater degree, with the limitations of the technology exacerbating an already serious humanitarian crisis. The real-world situation of the bombing of civilian structures in Gaza and the displacement of many thousands of people illustrate the urgent global requirement for actions that will ensure the proper application of AI in warfare. Those measures have not taken place yet, so the civilian population of Gaza remains at the mercy of devices that do not recognize the human implications of their decisions.
Muhammad Usman is a Research Scholar of International Relations at Bahria University Islamabad with expertise in Non-Traditional Security, Economy and Current Affairs. With an interest in contemporary global challenges, Muhammad Usman explores the interchange of security, economy, and governance in their academic work, aiming to contribute to policy-oriented research. Can be reached at: rusman290@gmail.com
