Israel Deploys AI-Enabled Military Technology in Gaza Conflicthttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/4846521-israel-deploys-ai-enabled-military-technology-gaza-conflict
Israel Deploys AI-Enabled Military Technology in Gaza Conflict
An Israeli drone seen over Rafah on January 28, 2024. (AFP)
Israel's military has incorporated Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology into combat operations in Gaza, marking the first deployment of such advanced weaponry in the months-long war.
The move sparked concerns about the implications of autonomous weapons in modern warfare.
A senior defense official revealed that the AI-enabled tech is primarily focused on neutralizing enemy drones and mapping Hamas's extensive tunnel network in Gaza.
Israel's tech industry is currently facing challenges due to the war in Gaza. The sector, which accounted for 18 percent of GDP in 2022, has been affected by the conflict, with an estimated eight percent of its workforce called up for military service.
"In general, the war in Gaza presents threats, but also opportunities to test emerging technologies in the field," said Avi Hasson, chief executive of Startup Nation Central, an Israeli tech incubator.
"Both on the battlefield and in the hospitals, there are technologies that have been used in this war that have not been used in the past."
But the rising civilian death toll shows that much greater oversight is needed over the use of new forms of defense tech, Mary Wareham, an arms expert at Human Rights Watch, told Agence France Presse.
"Now we're facing the worst possible situation of death and suffering that we're seeing today -- some of that is being brought about by the new tech," she said.
More than 150 countries in December backed a UN resolution identifying "serious challenges and concerns" in new military tech, including "artificial intelligence and autonomy in weapons systems."
- 'Angry Birds'
Hamas on October 7 launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, resulting in the deaths of about 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Hamas also seized around 250 hostages, and Israel says some 132 remain in Gaza, including at least 29 believed to have been killed.
Israel's military response has killed nearly 28,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry.
Like many other modern conflicts, the war has been shaped by a proliferation of inexpensive unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, which have made attacks from the air easier and cheaper.
Hamas used them to drop explosives on October 7, while Israel has turned to new tech to shoot them down.
In a first, the army has used an AI-enabled optic sight, made by Israeli startup Smart Shooter, which is attached to weapons such as rifles and machine guns.
"It helps our soldiers to intercept drones because Hamas uses a lot of drones," said the senior defense official.
"It makes every regular soldier -- even a blind soldier -- a sniper."
Another system to neutralize drones involves deploying a friendly drone with a net that it can throw around the enemy craft to neutralize it.
"It's drone versus drone -- we call it Angry Birds," the official said.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the United States -- Israel's main international ally -- was training its own soldiers to shoot down drones using Smart Shooter's optic sights.
- Hamas tunnels
Another development involves the use of AI-powered drones to map and navigate the extensive underground tunnel network in Gaza stretching over 500 kilometers. These tunnels are crucial hiding places and locations where hostages are held.
To map the tunnels, the army has turned to drones that use AI to learn to detect humans and can operate underground. It is being used in Gaza "to enter into tunnels and to see as far as the communication lets you," the senior Israeli defense official said.
700 Square Kilometers Under Israeli Occupation in Lebanon: What Does the ‘Security Belt’ Mean?https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5333006-700-square-kilometers-under-israeli-occupation-lebanon-what-does-%E2%80%98security-belt%E2%80%99
700 Square Kilometers Under Israeli Occupation in Lebanon: What Does the ‘Security Belt’ Mean?
Israel’s expanding operations in southern Lebanon are raising questions about how much territory its forces actually occupy, and how much they control through surveillance, firepower and the ability to launch attacks from forward positions.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has repeatedly cited an area of roughly 700 square kilometers. But developments on the ground paint a more complex picture: Israeli control varies from troops stationed at fixed positions to mobile incursions and firepower dominance over much wider areas.
Military assessments suggest the area is far from a uniform security belt stretching from the Mediterranean coast to Mount Hermon. Its depth varies sharply across sectors, shaped by terrain, commanding heights and routes of movement.
Israeli troops and military vehicles are stationed in some areas. Others have no permanent Israeli military presence but remain under aerial surveillance or within striking range, allowing forces to operate there without maintaining troops on the ground.
Single Front
Defense and security expert Riad Kahwaji told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel views Lebanon and the Golan Heights as "a single front" stretching from Mount Hermon to the Mediterranean coast at Naqoura and Bayada, despite crossing two countries.
"From its perspective, Israel is establishing a security belt along its northern border," Kahwaji said, adding that the belt is "no longer confined to areas south of the Litani River but has extended north of it in some locations."
Geography helps explain why.
"The geographical scope has effectively expanded beyond the area south of the Litani, particularly from the direction of Metula, where the river is only about seven kilometers away, compared with roughly 30 kilometers between Naqoura and the Litani," he said.
That difference, Kahwaji explained, means the security belt can extend north of the Litani in some areas without maintaining the same depth across the entire border.
The river, therefore, is not a uniform dividing line between northern and southern operational zones. Distances vary, and geography dictates how far Israeli troops or firepower can reach.
Israeli bulldozers carve roads through the mountainous al-Shaqif region in southern Lebanon (AFP)
Firepower
Kahwaji drew a distinction between occupying territory and controlling it through surveillance and firepower.
He said Israel relies on about 20 military positions, each capable of accommodating a small force, while drones continuously monitor movements deeper inside the area.
"Each position could accommodate a company-sized force, while drones operate continuously farther behind these positions to monitor movements," he said.
"When drones detect movement, it is targeted by artillery or an airstrike. Alternatively, a patrol can be dispatched from one of these positions toward the location where the movement was detected within what is known as the yellow belt."
That, he said, is what control through firepower means.
"It does not require an extensive military presence throughout the entire belt. Instead, it relies on specific military positions, continuous surveillance through drones and firepower, and the ability to target any movement or dispatch a patrol."
The result is a military footprint that extends well beyond the positions troops physically occupy.
From elevated or fortified positions, forces can monitor surrounding roads and towns, strike targets or send patrols without establishing permanent bases in every location.
From the Coast to Beaufort Castle
The pattern is visible across southern Lebanon.
In the west, Israeli operations extend from Naqoura and the coastal sector into areas that have recently faced incursions, demolitions and repeated shelling, including Mansouri and its surroundings.
Farther east, central-sector towns such as Beit Yahoun, Hadatha, Haris and Aita al-Jabal have experienced varying degrees of Israeli military activity or attacks, though the level of troop presence differs.
The reach of operations extends farther inland toward Beaufort Castle and the Ali al-Taher heights.
There, elevated terrain offers commanding views over wider areas toward Nabatieh, Iqlim al-Tuffah and surrounding movement routes.
The result is a zone of control shaped less by a continuous border strip than by strategic elevations and the areas they overlook.
Could Israeli Operations Reach the Awali River?
Retired Brigadier General Fadi Daoud offered a broader assessment of where Israeli operations could extend, arguing that control of high ground may determine the limits of any advance.
"What is clear in southern Lebanon is that the expansion could reach the Awali River. Even if it does not, forces will remain positioned on the heights overlooking the river," Daoud told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He said such a deployment could also encompass Rihan and areas around Jezzine, particularly Kfarhouna.
"The western boundary will be the Awali River," he said, identifying geographical control, especially over commanding heights, as the key factor shaping military movements.
Holding elevated positions, he argued, would allow Israeli forces to dominate lower-lying areas with firepower without maintaining troops throughout them.
"Geographical control will enable Israel to control the western Bekaa from the right flank because it is already present on Mount Hermon. The western Bekaa has effectively become a pocket between Mount Hermon and Rihan," Daoud said.
"Israel will establish positions there to control the Bekaa."
Dense clouds of dust cover the hills of Arnoun and al-Shaqif surrounding Beaufort Castle, as seen from Marjayoun in southern Lebanon (AFP)
The Strategic Heights of Rihan and Iqlim al-Tuffah
Daoud said the potential advance could stretch from Mount Rihan toward the heights of Iqlim al-Tuffah, including Mount Safi.
"It will move from Mount Rihan to the heights of Iqlim al-Tuffah, including Mount Safi, where it will establish control over Hezbollah's stronghold in Iqlim al-Tuffah, as well as Sidon, eastern Sidon and the Awali River," he said.
For Daoud, terrain is the determining factor.
"Geography is fixed, and Israel will follow it," he said, stressing that forces positioned on high ground can control areas below through firepower without deploying throughout them.
He argued that Israeli control of Mount Hermon would leave the western Bekaa militarily exposed as far as Qaraoun.
"Its control of Mount Hermon makes the western Bekaa militarily vulnerable as far as Qaraoun," he said.
Mount Hermon, he explained, overlooks two major areas: the western Bekaa to the west and Daraa in Syria to the east.
Both, he said, "will form pockets" on either side of the mountain.
The two military assessments point to a central distinction in the debate over the 700-square-kilometer area: the territory Israel can monitor, strike or enter is not necessarily territory it physically occupies.
Commanding heights, observation posts, fields of fire and the ability to deploy patrols can extend military control far beyond fixed positions, even as the scale of Israel's actual troop presence varies from one sector to another.
Israeli Drone Strike, Demolitions Hit Southern Lebanon
Meanwhile, Israeli military operations continued across southern Lebanon on Friday.
An Israeli drone struck a roundabout in Kfar Tebnit, in the Nabatieh district, with preliminary reports indicating casualties.
At the same time, Israeli troops carried out two demolitions, one on the outskirts of Kfar Tebnit and another in Mansouri in the Tyre district.
Israeli forces also set fire to wooded areas in Qantara and swept Wadi al-Hujeir with machine-gun fire.
An Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade near Kfarshouba, while low-flying drones were reported over Beirut's southern suburbs, Tyre and surrounding areas.
Khartoum Denies Army Role in ‘Abyei Massacre’https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5333001-khartoum-denies-army-role-%E2%80%98abyei-massacre%E2%80%99
UN peacekeeping forces (UNISFA) attempting to extinguish fires in Al-Na'am market in the Abyei area (United Nations - Facebook)
Sudan’s government denied army involvement in a drone strike that killed more than 150 people at a market in the disputed Abyei region bordering South Sudan, according to local reports, as drone warfare intensified across Darfur and Kordofan.
The army, meanwhile, said it had recaptured military positions in Blue Nile state near the Ethiopian border and shot down a drone that crossed into Sudan from Ethiopia.
In a statement issued late Thursday, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry expressed deep regret over the civilian deaths, categorically denying “any connection between the Sudanese Armed Forces and this unfortunate incident.”
Aftermath of the fire that targeted a civilian truck in Abyei market (United Nations - Facebook)
The ministry said the attack bore similarities to atrocities blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), citing a December 2025 strike on a United Nations peacekeeping headquarters in Kadugli, South Kordofan, that killed peacekeepers, as well as attacks on humanitarian aid convoys.
The denial followed the army’s publication of images on Facebook in recent days indicating it had struck RSF command centers in the area.
An army officer also told the Associated Press that the strikes targeted fuel trucks heading to the RSF, denying that civilians had been targeted. The army leadership has made no official admission of responsibility.
South Sudan’s Foreign Ministry summoned Sudan’s ambassador in Juba to protest the attack, amid growing fears that the war’s fallout could spill across the border.
Peacekeeping forces in Abyei (UNISFA) participating in rescuing victims from Al-Na'am market (United Nations - Facebook)
UN, African Union Condemn Strikes
Oil-rich Abyei remains a flashpoint between Sudan and South Sudan, with sovereignty over the territory disputed since South Sudan’s independence in 2011. A UN peacekeeping force is deployed in the area.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned Monday’s drone attacks on Abyei, which killed dozens of civilians, including women and children, urging Khartoum and Juba to prevent further strikes and uphold the region’s demilitarized status.
African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf also condemned the attacks, citing local and medical reports of more than 150 deaths.
He urged the warring sides to avoid actions that could inflame the conflict or threaten neighboring countries and reaffirmed support for mediation efforts to secure an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
Elsewhere, the RSF-led parallel government, known as Tasis, accused the Sudanese army of striking a hospital in El Daein, the capital of East Darfur, with a drone on Thursday, killing three people and wounding dozens, according to its account.
In a statement Friday, Tasis said further airstrikes hit the government secretariat in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, where the RSF runs its administration of territories under its control.
Pro-army social media platforms reported heavy airstrikes on RSF positions in Nyala, El Daein, El Fasher and parts of West Kordofan.
Local reports said the strikes hit fuel depots and military vehicles in the oil-producing Abu Jabra area of East Darfur, as well as positions in Babanusa, West Kordofan.
A military source cited in the reports said the raids aimed to cripple RSF logistics ahead of possible ground operations.
Image published by the Sudanese Army of a command post belonging to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Abyei (its Facebook page)
Army Reports Gains in Blue Nile
On another front, Sudan’s army said Thursday evening it had retaken Bakori and Aklili in southeastern Blue Nile state near the Ethiopian border after clashes with an alliance of the RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu.
The army’s 4th Infantry Division, based in Damazin, said on Facebook that its troops had “liberated” both areas, inflicting heavy losses on opposing forces.
Bakori holds strategic military importance as the site of a 13th Brigade base along a route to Damazin, the state capital. RSF-allied forces had seized the area in August.
The army also said it had downed a drone it described as “strategic” over Bakori, claiming it had tracked the aircraft from the moment it crossed the Ethiopian border. It said the drone targeted fuel trucks believed to be heading to the RSF.
Sudan has accused Ethiopia of allowing the RSF to use its territory to launch drone strikes and ground operations inside Sudan, allegations Addis Ababa denies.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry to Asharq Al-Awsat: No Obstacles Hindering Dutch Embassy Operationshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5332999-egyptian-foreign-ministry-asharq-al-awsat-no-obstacles-hindering-dutch-embassy
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets his Dutch counterpart, Tom Berendsen, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last September (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Ministry to Asharq Al-Awsat: No Obstacles Hindering Dutch Embassy Operations
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets his Dutch counterpart, Tom Berendsen, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last September (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egypt has seen no obstacles to the Dutch embassy's operations in Cairo, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday, after the mission closed to the public until further notice.
“Temporary measures by diplomatic missions to suspend public access are routine and do not signal any disruption to embassy operations,” ministry spokesperson Ambassador Nader Zaki told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“We have seen nothing hindering the Dutch embassy's work,” he said.
Zaki said Egypt was fully committed to protecting foreign embassies and diplomatic missions on its territory in line with international agreements governing diplomatic relations.
He pointed to a phone call about a week earlier between Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Dutch counterpart, Tom Berendsen, in which the two discussed embassy security following incidents involving Egypt's mission in the Netherlands.
Zaki said diplomatic missions in Cairo enjoyed greater security and protection than those in many other capitals and were free to operate without interference, “unlike the treatment of some of our embassies.”
The Dutch embassy announced on Thursday that its Cairo premises would remain closed to the public until further notice as a precautionary measure.
In a Facebook statement, the embassy said the Dutch Foreign Ministry had ordered the closure “in light of demonstrations taking place in front of the (embassy) building.”
People with scheduled appointments would be contacted or notified as soon as possible about rescheduling, it said, adding that the “temporary closure would not affect the services provided by VFS Global in Cairo.”
The move followed diplomatic exchanges over the protection of Egypt's embassy in The Hague.
On Oct. 13, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said Abdelatty had discussed with Berendsen the need to safeguard the Egyptian mission under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the principle of reciprocity.
The call came days after videos circulated on social media showing an opponent of the Egyptian authorities displaying offensive placards targeting them in the presence of Dutch police officers.
The ministers also discussed the detention of an Egyptian citizen in the Netherlands. Abdelatty sought details of the incident and called for his swift release, the ministry said.
About a week ago, dozens of Egyptians protested outside the Dutch embassy in Cairo, demanding the release of Ahmed Nasser, deputy chairman of the unofficial Union of Egyptian Youth Abroad, following his detention in the Netherlands.
Nasser is a prominent opponent of displaying offensive placards outside Egyptian embassies abroad.
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