Introduction: How Israel is Redefining Modern Warfare with AI

In late 2023, Israel sought to eliminate Ibrahim Biari, a senior Hamas leader in northern Gaza, believed to have orchestrated the deadly October 7 attacks. With Biari hiding deep within Gaza’s tunnel network, traditional intelligence methods fell short.
This urgent mission led Israeli commanders to deploy a powerful new AI-driven military technology, reshaping how modern conflicts are fought.

How AI Helped Track and Kill Hamas Leader Ibrahim Biari

The Birth of AI Audio Tools in Warfare

Originally developed a decade ago but never used in battle, Israel’s AI audio tool was rapidly upgraded by engineers at Unit 8200—Israel’s equivalent of the NSA.
By analyzing intercepted calls, the AI system pinpointed Biari’s location, leading to a targeted airstrike on October 31, 2023. Although Biari was killed, around 125 civilians also lost their lives, according to Airwars, raising ethical concerns about AI’s impact on non-combatants.

Rapid Testing and Deployment of AI Military Technologies

AI Integration Across Multiple Fronts

Nine American and Israeli defense officials revealed that Biari’s case was just one example. Israel used the Gaza conflict as a live battlefield for AI experiments to a scale never seen before.
Key AI applications included:

• Facial recognition system to match injured or partially obscured faces.

• AI systems to compile airstrike target lists.

• An Arabic-language AI chatbot to scan text messages, social media posts, and online data.

Reserve soldiers from major tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms collaborated with enlisted Unit 8200 personnel through an innovation hub known as “The Studio.”

Ethical Concerns: The Double-Edged Sword of AI in Warfare

Despite the technological leaps, multiple instances of misidentification, wrongful arrests, and civilian casualties were reported.
Experts like Hadas Lorber, Chair of the Institute for Applied Research in Responsible AI, emphasized that while AI accelerated innovation, it also raised serious ethical questions. She warned that human oversight must always be part of decision-making in warfare.

Israel’s AI Arsenal: From Drones to Surveillance Systems

Advanced Drones Powered by AI Algorithms

Startups like XTEND, in collaboration with the Israeli military, developed AI-enhanced drones capable of:

• Locking onto targets automatically.

• Tracking moving vehicles or individuals with lethal accuracy.

According to XTEND’s CEO Aviv Shapira, AI-driven drones significantly improved target acquisition compared to previous manual methods.

Building an Arabic-Language AI Model

Israeli intelligence leveraged decades of intercepted Arabic conversations to train a large language model (LLM) tailored to Arabic dialects.
The chatbot could analyze public reactions, like during the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, to gauge the likelihood of retaliations.

However, issues like misinterpretation of slang and translation errors occasionally required human review.

Challenges with AI Facial Recognition and Target Identification

Israel also deployed AI facial recognition systems at checkpoints between Gaza’s north and south.
While these systems enhanced security, they sometimes wrongly flagged civilians, leading to false arrests and interrogations, according to Israeli intelligence sources.

Another system, known as “Lavender,” used machine learning to sort through Hamas member databases, helping military planners identify low-level militants — although it too faced accuracy issues.

Conclusion: The Future of AI on the Battlefield

Israel’s experience demonstrates the potential and perils of using artificial intelligence in modern warfare.
While AI enabled faster, more precise military operations, it also magnified ethical risks and civilian harm. As conflicts continue evolving, Israel’s example offers a critical preview of how AI will shape future battlegrounds — and why human accountability must remain central.