Amnesty International has documented Israel's extensive use of facial-recognition technology in Gaza and the occupied territories, raising concerns over mass surveillance and human rights abuses. The technology, deployed at checkpoints and elsewhere, scans Palestinians' faces and cross-references them with databases to identify suspected militants, but has also falsely flagged civilians, according to reports.
Since the start of the Gaza war, Israel has expanded its surveillance capabilities, including new facial-recognition systems, as reported by the New York Times. The Israeli military uses these systems to detain individuals with suspected ties to Hamas, but an Israeli officer told the Times that the technology has mistakenly tagged civilians as militants.
Amnesty's report, led by researcher Matt Mahmoudi, details how Israeli authorities have gathered biometric data from Palestinians without consent, building a vast database used to restrict movement and conduct mass surveillance. The Israeli Ministry of Defense did not comment on the findings.
Human rights groups warn that the use of AI-driven facial recognition in conflict marks an escalation in Israel's technological surveillance of Palestinians. The technology's proliferation, accelerated by AI advances, has drawn criticism from privacy advocates who see it as a tool for potential harm.
