The security documents provided to The Washington Post demonstrate that Google supplied its advanced AI technologies to help Israel during its initial conflicts in the current Israel-Gaza war. New documents show that Google operated as a supportive partner to Israel’s Defense Ministry while the IDF conducted its military operations and the company maintained official distance from Israel’s security operations.
The collaborative partnership evolved from the controversial Nimbus cloud computing project which earned Google and Amazon a multibillion-dollar contract from Israel during 2021. Google defends its AI policies preserving human safety yet critics demonstrate how the technology enabled Israeli airstrikes to harm Gaza inhabitants after twelve months of airstrikes.
Last year Google employees mounted increasing opposition to the Nimbus contract by sending more than 100 emails to management and human rights team members asking for an assessment of military partnerships. Company managers ignored these staff concerns thus resulting in over 50 employees being terminated for protesting against the contract in 2024.
During late 2024 the Israeli government upheld its support of Google’s advancing artificial intelligence capabilities. Representatives from Google, Amazon and the IDF refused to provide information about recent developments.
The released documents create ethical debates concerning how much involvement technology corporations should have with combat operations and their obligations to defend human rights during active conflicts.
