<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-inner-article-top"><h1 class="gmail-">Israel to use facial recognition tech to 'screen' Palestinians in need of aid</h1><p class="gmail-">The threat of total famine looms over the entirety of Gaza as a result of a months-long blockade imposed by Israel
</p><div class="gmail-another-name"><p><a href="https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9" style="color:rgb(164,4,4)">News Desk</a></p></div><div class="gmail-another-name" style="margin-top:16px"><p><span style="color:rgb(84,88,94)">MAY 15, 2025 - </span><font size="1"><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-to-use-facial-recognition-tech-to-screen-palestinians-in-need-of-aid">https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-to-use-facial-recognition-tech-to-screen-palestinians-in-need-of-aid</a></font></p></div></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-img"><img src="https://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/93762552-3183-11f0-9281-00163e02c055.jpeg" alt="" width="394" height="222" style="margin-right: 0px;"><span>(Photo credit: AP)</span></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-content"><div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-col-md-8 gmail-col-sm-7"><div class="gmail-article-content"><span class="gmail-article-body"><p>The Israeli cabinet has approved a <a href="https://www.biometricupdate.com/202505/israel-seeks-funding-for-plan-to-require-facial-recognition-in-exchange-for-food-in-gaza">plan</a>
imposing new restrictions on the distribution of humanitarian aid and
food supplies in Gaza, including mandatory facial recognition. </p><p>\u201cPalestinians
would be coming to these places, registered and screened through facial
recognition technology. They\u2019d pick up parcels for their family,\u201d said
NPR journalist Daniel Estrin. </p><p>Israel says the plan aims to
prevent Hamas from accessing humanitarian aid. Yet Estrin cited an
Israeli official as saying that \u201cit\u2019s actually part of a bigger strategy
to get Palestinian civilians to move en masse to a smaller, more
consolidated area of Gaza so that the military can expand the territory
that it\u2019s taking over in Gaza.\u201d</p><p>The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/27/technology/israel-facial-recognition-gaza.html"><i>New York Times</i></a>
(NYT) had reported in March that Israel has already deployed facial
recognition programs in Gaza, using technology from private Israeli
company Corsight, as well as Google Photos. </p><p>\u201cAt times, the
technology wrongly flagged civilians as wanted Hamas militants,\u201d it
cited an anonymous Israeli intelligence officer as saying. The program,
initially used to search for Israeli captives held by the resistance,
was transformed into a mass surveillance initiative, according to the
report.</p><p>The UN has condemned the Israeli plan to make aid
conditional on facial recognition. UNICEF spokesman James Elder said it
\u201ccontravenes basic humanitarian principles\u201d and is designed to
\u201creinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic.\u201d</p><p>Tel
Aviv has recently approved plans to further expand its genocidal
assault on Gaza. Since renewing its war in March, it has seized at least
50 percent of the strip\u2019s territory and has vowed to seize more. This
has coincided with the continuation of a total Israeli <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/netanyahu-says-macron-stands-with-hamas-for-criticism-of-israeli-created-famine-in-gaza">blockade,</a> which has seen the humanitarian situation in the strip deteriorate rapidly.</p><p>The UN has warned of a looming famine across the entirety of the strip.</p><p>On Thursday, US President Donald Trump renewed his calls for Washington to assume control over Gaza.</p><p>Speaking
from Qatar, Trump said he would support direct US involvement in Gaza,
suggesting that the US \u201ctake\u201d the besieged territory and transform it
into what he called a \u201cfreedom zone.\u201d</p><p>\u201cI have concepts for Gaza \u2026 I\u2019d be proud to have the US take it, make it a freedom zone,\u201d Trump said.</p><p>Medical sources told <i>Al Jazeera</i> on 15 May that at least 103 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since dawn.</p><p>Social media has been flooded with <a href="https://t.me/thecradlemedia/35037">videos</a> and images of injured, including children, arriving at hospitals. </p><p>Early on Thursday, Palestinian journalist Hassan Samour was killed in a strike on his home, making him the 216<sup>th</sup>
journalist to be killed by Israel since the start of the war, according
to Gaza\u2019s Government Media Office. Well-known Palestinian journalist
Hassan Aslih was killed just two days earlier in a strike on Nasser
Hospital in Khan Yunis, where he was recovering from wounds sustained
during an Israeli attack on a media tent last month. </p><p>The Health
Ministry in Gaza announced on Thursday that the European Hospital in
Khan Yunis is now completely out of service after the massive attacks
carried out recently by the Israeli air force. </p><p>Specialized
services including neurosurgery, chest surgery, cardiology, and
ophthalmology have been suspended, the ministry said, adding that the
hospital\u2019s closure has also cut off cancer patients from accessing
life-saving treatment protocols.</p><p>Israel launched a series of powerful strikes in the vicinity of the European Hospital on 13 May, killing at least 28 people. </p><p>Israeli media said dozens of <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-escalates-massacres-after-dropping-bunker-busters-on-gazas-khan-yunis">bunker-buster munitions</a>
were used to successfully destroy an underground complex belonging to
the Palestinian resistance, and that Mohammad Sinwar \u2013 brother of late
Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar \u2013 was assassinated in the attack. His killing
has yet to be confirmed. </p></span></div></div></div></div>
<br></div>