Israel is using facial recognition technology to pinpoint Hamas terrorists in Gaza, reports say

Palestinians fleeing the Israeli assault on Khan Younis in January may have been monitored by the facial recognition system – AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Israeli military intelligence is reportedly using facial recognition technology to monitor, identify and detain Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

The mass surveillance technology was initially used in Gaza to find Israelis taken hostage by Hamas in its deadly attacks on Oct 7.

Since then, Israel has sought to root out Hamas members as part of a ground offensive, and has used the technology to find people suspected to have ties with the group, unnamed Israeli intelligence officers, military officials, and soldiers told the New York Times.

However, the sources said, the data collection has been done without the knowledge or consent of the population of Gaza, and is not always accurate, at times mistakenly identifying civilians as Hamas militants.

Israeli soldiers walk past surveillance cameras in Hebron, in the West Bank – HAZEM BADER/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The sources said they were speaking out about the programme over concerns that government resources could be better directed toward other uses.

The facial recognition programme is believed to be run by Israel’s military intelligence unit, and uses technology from Corsight, a private Israeli firm.

Corsight did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Israeli military also has not commented specifically on the reports of the use of facial recognition technology.

But Israeli authorities have previously used such technology in the West Bank, another occupied Palestinian territory, according to the human rights group Amnesty International.

Surveillance cameras in Hebron, in the West Bank, where Amnesty International said facial recognition technology was in use – HAZEM BADER/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

An experimental facial recognition system called Red Wolf has been used there, the group said in a report from May 2023.

It is used at military checkpoints in the city of Hebron in the West Bank, where it scans Palestinians’ faces and adds them to a database without consent.

Amnesty’s report said such surveillance “is part of a deliberate attempt by Israeli authorities to create a hostile and coercive environment for Palestinians, with the aim of minimising their presence in strategic areas”.

Facial recognition technology has begun to proliferate globally in recent years as advances are made in artificial intelligence.

In China, it has been used widely for everything from boarding flights to suppressing Muslim minority groups.

In recent years, it has also become common to see facial recognition gates for public transport and even for workers to enter construction sites.

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