'Mass assassination factory' How Israel is using AI to find targets for airstrikes in Gaza

As Israel resumes its offensive in Gaza after a seven-day ceasefire, there are mounting concerns about the approach used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in planning its targets in a war that, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, has so far killed more than 15,000 people in the territory.

- Harry Davies , Bethan McKernan , Dan Sabbagh

Israel's military has long had a reputation for technical prowess. After the 11-day conflict in Gaza in May 2021, officials said the country had fought its "first AI war" using machine learning and advanced computing.

The latest Israel-Hamas war has provided an unprecedented opportunity for the IDF to use such tools in a much wider theatre of operations and, in particular, to deploy an AI target-creation platform called the Gospel, which has significantly accelerated a lethal production line of targets that officials have compared to a "factory".

The Guardian can reveal new details about the Gospel and its central role in Israel's war in Gaza, using interviews with intelligence sources and little-noticed statements made by the IDF.

This article also draws on testimonies published by the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrewlanguage outlet Local Call, which have interviewed several current and former sources in Israel's intelligence community familiar with the Gospel platform.

Their comments offer a glimpse inside a secretive, Al-facilitated military intelligence unit that is playing a significant role in Israel's response to the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on 7 October.