Desk Report:
Israel is using automatic firearms controlled by artificial intelligence to kill Palestinians in Gaza. And these weapons were jointly developed by Israel’s Israel Weapons Industries and India’s Adani Defense and Aerospace. This issue has been raised in a detailed investigative report by the Middle East-focused media outlet Middle East Eye. The report was published on November 20, 2024.
Israeli forces are using a new artificial intelligence or AI-powered weapon system called Arbel in the horrific operation carried out in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza since October 7, 2023. Defense analysts and various media outlets say that this weapon is being called “a revolutionary technology that greatly increases the chances of survival even after the operator uses lethal force.”
This technology transforms automatic firearms like the Tavor, Carmel and Negev into a system where target discrimination is more accurate and effective with the help of algorithms.
In the past 13 months, Israeli forces have carried out various types of massacres in Gaza, from bombing schools, refugee camps and hospitals to direct executions on the streets. During this time, women and children have lost the most lives. Various estimates show that the number of Palestinians killed is at least 66,000.
However, a letter from about 100 American doctors told the then US President Biden last year that the death toll had exceeded 118,000. And another letter published in the British journal The Lancet said that the real number could be more than 180,000. The United Nations has also said that the unprecedented destruction and death toll in Gaza may be due to the use of AI in Israel’s military operations.
Although the name Arbel is taken from the Bible, it is also the name of the city that was built by occupying the Palestinian village of Hittin in 1948. The weapon was first announced at a defense exhibition in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, in October 2022. There it was presented as a joint venture between Israel Weapons Industries and India’s Adani Defense and Aerospace.
Indian media then called it India’s first AI-based firing system. But in April 2024, during the Gaza war, Israel demonstrated the weapon again, and it was called the first computerized weapon system. Adani’s name was no longer mentioned there. It is believed that the components were jointly developed by both sides, but the assembly was done in Israel. The reason for dropping Adani’s name is said to be to avoid public outrage during wartime or to avoid liability in the event of future sanctions.
Indian defense analyst Girish Linganna said that Arbel shows the growing role of AI in modern warfare, but its lethality and the risk of misuse are morally terrifying. Journalist Anthony Lowenstein, who wrote the book ‘The Palestine Laboratory’ about how Israel is using Palestine as a de facto weapons laboratory, said that the intention was to target ordinary people in Gaza, not Hamas. “I have spoken directly to the victims. It is horrific,” he said.
Noah Sylvia, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, believes that these weapons, in the name of efficiency, actually increase the destruction. According to him, the way Israeli soldiers target children, Arbel is making the process of killing children more effective.
The India-Israel arms trade has been in the news before. In February this year, 20 Indian-made Hermes-900 drones were sent to Israel. They are a joint venture between Adani and Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. In April last year, rocket engines, explosives and artillery propellant were sent from India to Israel. In May, another Indian arms-carrying ship was blocked from entering Spain. In September, India’s Supreme Court rejected a request to ban military exports.
When the Arbel issue was first announced, Adani Defense CEO Ashish Rajvanshi said that it It helps soldiers survive under pressure and fatigue. In June 2024, Ronen Hamudat, an official at Israel Weapons Industries, said that it has an electronic trigger and a new firing mode, which increases accuracy under pressure.
Marwa Fatafta of the human rights organization Access Now said that Israel has turned Gaza into a laboratory for new AI warfare technologies, and this time it has been made possible by Indo-Israeli technology. When contacted by Middle East Eye, the Israeli Ministry of Defense did not comment on the matter, saying that it had contacted the army. But they did not respond. Israel Weapons Industries and Adani also did not respond.
India’s investment in AI stood at $7.73 billion between 2013 and 2022, the sixth highest in the world. By 2027, the market could reach $17 billion to $22 billion. The country is rapidly building one of the world’s largest AI-skilled workforces. Since the start of the Gaza war India and Israel have signed at least 24 agreements and agreements in robotics, AI and defense research. Israel’s ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, has said that India is a domestic market for them, as well as a gateway to the United States and Europe.
Indian peace organizations say that India-Israeli arms cooperation is shameful in the midst of genocide. This time, it has become even more terrible with the use of AI weapons. Journalist Lowenstein warns that until there is legal punishment for genocide, these AI weapons will spread further.
He said, “Since India is Israel’s largest arms buyer, India can use such weapons in its own country or elsewhere in the world. According to him, any government, democratic or authoritarian, will use such technology for its own interests.”
