The Israeli army has deployed new military technology based on artificial intelligence (AI) in its offensive in the Gaza Strip, which it uses to prevent attacks and map the vast network of Hamas tunnels, a senior Israeli military official told AFP.
This is welcome for Israel's war-ravaged tech industry. In 2022, the sector accounted for 18 percent of GDP, but since the war began on October 7, about eight percent of its workforce has been mobilized to fight.
"The war in Gaza brings opportunities to test new technologies on the ground," said Avi Hasson, CEO of Startup Nation Central, Israel's technology "incubator."
"On the battlefield and in hospitals, some of the technologies were used for the first time in the war," he said.
Last December, more than 150 countries backed a UN resolution identifying "serious challenges and concerns" over new military technologies, including "artificial intelligence and autonomous weapons systems."
Like many other modern conflicts, the war in Gaza has been marked by the proliferation of cheap drones, which have facilitated airstrikes. Hamas has used many, including on October 7 to throw explosives into southern Israel that started the war.
Israel, whose Iron Dome system intercepts rockets and missiles, has turned to a new technology: an AI-powered optical sight, made by Israeli start-up Smart Shooter and mounted on rifles or machine guns.
It "helps our forces intercept drones" because it "makes every ordinary soldier, even a blind one, a sniper," a senior Israeli defense official said.
AI is also being used for one of the priorities of Israel's war plan to "destroy" Hamas: compiling a map of the countless tunnels in which, according to Israel, fighters of the Palestinian movement are hiding and being held hostage.
The underground network is so vast that the Israeli military has nicknamed it the "Gaza Metro": at least 1.300 tunnels more than 500 kilometers long - according to a recent study by the US Military Academy at West Point.
To create the map, Israel uses automated drones equipped with artificial intelligence that go underground, including a model built by Israeli startup Robotican in a robot.
Before the war, technology did not allow drones to operate underground due to image transmission problems, he added.
The war thus strengthened Israel's status as a world leader in the production of advanced defense systems.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the United States, Israel's main ally that provides billions of dollars in military aid each year, is training its soldiers to shoot down drones using Israel's Smart technology.
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