Facial recognition/ShutterStock
Israeli security officials, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed to the "New York Times" that the security system uses advanced facial recognition technologies to locate wanted persons in the Gaza Strip.
According to intelligence sources who spoke to the American newspaper, Unit 8200 was instructed to create an "elimination list" of Hamas members who took part in the October 7 massacre.
According to the publication, the program, developed by unit 8200, uses the technology of the Israeli company Corsight alongside Google's image service.
At first it was used to locate the Israeli abductees, and after the ground operation in Gaza, the IDF increasingly relied on technology to locate anyone with ties to Hamas or other militant groups. In some cases, one of the sources claimed in the report, the technology mistakenly identified civilians as wanted Hamas militants In
the article, Musab Abu Toha (31), a Palestinian poet resident of the Gaza Strip, who was arrested for two days last November, by the security forces, was interviewed. "I had no idea what was going on or how they suddenly knew my full name," said Abu Toha in the interview. It was later explained that it was an identification mistake - due to the use of technology.
After the launch of the ground operation in Gaza, the IDF increasingly relied on technology/IDF spokesman
According to the New York Times, the three intelligence officials who are familiar with the plan said they are "speaking out of concerns that this is a misuse of time and resources on the part of Israel."
The IDF spokesman refused to comment on the nature of the activity in Gaza, but said that the army "is carrying out essential security and intelligence operations, while making significant efforts to minimize harm to the non-involved population." He further added: "Of course, we cannot refer to operational and intelligence capabilities in this context." .
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Facial recognition technology has spread around the world in recent years, thanks to increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence systems.
While some countries are using the technology to facilitate the world of aviation, China and Russia have deployed the technology against minority groups and suppression of free speech.
Matt Mahmoudi, a researcher at Amnesty International, told The New York Times that Israel's use of facial recognition is worrisome because it could lead to the "total dehumanization of Palestinians."
In addition, according to an Amnesty report from last year, Israel has previously used facial recognition in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, but the effort in the Gaza Strip is broader.
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