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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">'Targets never end': 'Israel' uses Lavender AI system for Gaza bombing</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Al Mayadeen English</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">April 4, 2024<br></div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><p>Israeli
intelligence sources disclose the deployment of the Lavender system in
the Gaza genocide, affirming authorization to target civilians in
pursuit of Resistance fighters.</p><img src="cid:ii_lulfrwa00" alt="f29685ff-54b6-43dc-9700-dc17e6d87087.jpeg" width="395" height="263"><br><div><ul id="gmail-content-slick-0"><div aria-hidden="false"><li>
Palestinian cameraman Mohammed Alaloul (L) hugs his father
after two of his children and his brother were killed in an Israeli
strike on the al-Maghazi refugee camp. (<em>AFP </em>via Getty Images)
</li></div></ul>
<p>The Israeli military's airstrikes in Gaza utilized a previously undisclosed <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/technology/iof-s-use-of-ai-in-gaza-genocide-maximizes-risk-of-killing-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AI-powered database</a>,
dubbed Lavender, which reportedly identified 37,000 alleged targets
linked to the Palestinian Resistance, according to intelligence sources
familiar with the ongoing aggression.</p>
<p>These sources also unmasked that Israeli military officials
authorized the killing of a significant number of Palestinian civilians,
particularly in the initial weeks and months of the genocide.</p>
<p>Their testimonies offer shocking experiences of Israeli intelligence
personnel employing machine-learning systems to pinpoint "targets"
during the six-month-long aggression.</p>
<h2>'The machine did it coldly'</h2>
<p>Israeli utilization of sophisticated <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/technology/ai-should-be-prioritized-as-dangerous-as-nuclear-wars:-exper" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AI technology</a>
in its genocidal campaign in Gaza marks new territory in modern
warfare, adding to the legal and ethical scrutiny and reshaping the
dynamics between military personnel and automated systems.</p>
<p>"The machine did it coldly. And that made it easier,” said one intelligence officer who used Lavender.</p>
<p>“I would invest 20 seconds for each target at this stage, and do
dozens of them every day. I had zero added-value as a human, apart from
being a stamp of approval. It saved a lot of time,” said another
soldier.</p>
<p>The testimony from the six intelligence officers, all of whom have
been involved in using AI systems to identify "targets" allegedly
affiliated with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) during the
war, was provided to Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham. This information
was published in a report by publication <em>+972 Magazine</em> and outlet <em>Local Call</em>.</p>
<h2>Authorization to target civilians</h2>
<p>All six individuals stated that Lavender played a pivotal role in the
war, analyzing vast amounts of data to swiftly identify "potential
targets". According to four sources, Lavender initially listed up to
37,000 Palestinian men allegedly linked to the Resistance during the
early stages of the war.</p>
<p>Developed by the Israel Security Forces' elite intelligence division,
Unit 8200, Lavender is likened to the US National Security Agency or
the UK's GCHQ.</p>
<p>Multiple sources detailed how the IOF implemented pre-authorized
allowances for specific "target categories", specifying the estimated <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--kills-around-5-journalists-every-week-in-gaza-since" target="_blank" rel="noopener">number of civilians</a> permissible to be killed before authorizing a strike.</p>
<div><p>According to two sources, in the initial weeks of the war, they
were authorized to kill 15 to 20 civilians during airstrikes allegedly
targeting Resistance fighters. These attacks, typically executed using
unguided munitions referred to as "dumb bombs", resulted in the
destruction of entire residences and the fatalities of all individuals
inside them.</p><p> “You don’t want to waste expensive bombs on
unimportant people – it’s very expensive for the country and there’s a
shortage [of those bombs],” one intelligence officer said.</p></div>
<p>“Because we usually carried out the attacks with dumb bombs, and that
meant literally dropping the whole house on its occupants. But even if
an attack is averted, you don’t care – you immediately move on to the
next target. Because of the system, the targets never end. You have
another 36,000 waiting,” another added.</p>
<p>According to experts, if "Israel" has indeed utilized unguided bombs
to destroy the residences of numerous Palestinians over the mere
suspicion of having ties to Resistance groups in Gaza, aided by AI
technology, this could provide a potential explanation for the
significantly elevated civilian death toll during the war.</p>
<p>The Health Ministry reported earlier today that the total <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/in-181-days-only--33-037-killed--75-668-injured-in-gaza" target="_blank" rel="noopener">number of Palestinians killed</a>
in the Gaza Strip since the Israeli aggression on Gaza started on
October 7 has risen to 33,037, in addition to 75,668 injuries.</p>
<h2>‘It’s much easier to bomb a family’s home’</h2>
<p>The testimonies published by <em>+972</em> and <em>Local Call</em>
may shed light on how a modern military with advanced capabilities and
precision weapons could still inflict significant casualties during
warfare.</p>
<p>According to the testimonies, when targeting suspected Resistance
fighters, the preference was to strike when they were believed to be
present at their family's homes.</p>
<p>“We were not interested in killing [Hamas] operatives only when they
were in a military building or engaged in a military activity,” one
said. “It’s much easier to bomb a family’s home. The system is built to
look for them in these situations.”</p>
<p>The strategy posed a risk of increased civilian casualties, and
according to the sources, the IOF enforced predetermined limits on the
acceptable number of <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/destroying-gaza-s-healthcare-system-is-a-war-crime--foreign" target="_blank" rel="noopener">civilian casualties in strikes</a>
targeting individual Resistance fighters. This ratio was reported to
have evolved over time and differed based on the seniority of the
target.</p>
<p>"No one thought about what to do afterward, when the war is over, or how it will be possible to live in Gaza,” one said.</p>
<p>“There was a dissonance: on the one hand, people here were frustrated
that we were not attacking enough. On the other hand, you see at the
end of the day that another thousand Gazans have died, most of them
civilians,” one Israeli intelligence officer who used Lavender asserted.</p>
<p><strong>Read more: <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/civilian-deaths-in-gaza-top-all-20th-century-wars--israeli-m" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Civilian deaths in Gaza top all 20th century wars: Israeli media</a></strong></p></div></div></div>
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