Israel has introduced a massive facial recognition program in the Gaza Strip, creating a database of Palestinians without their knowledge or consent. new york times report. The program, created after the October 7 attack, leverages technology from Google Photos and custom tools built by Tel Aviv-based company Corsight to identify Hamas associates.
According to , the facial recognition program was built in parallel with Israel's military offensive in Gaza. times report. After the Oct. 7 attack, officers from IDF 8200, the IDF's main intelligence unit, looked at surveillance camera footage and videos uploaded by Hamas to social media to identify potential targets. The soldiers also asked Palestinian prisoners to identify anyone in their community associated with Hamas.
Cosite boasts that its technology can accurately identify people even when less than 50 percent of their faces are visible, and these photos can be used to create facial recognition that Israeli officers can use in the Gaza Strip. Built the tool. To further build up its database and identify potential targets, the Israeli military has set up checkpoints equipped with facial recognition cameras along the main roads used by Palestinians to flee south. A police officer spoke about his goals. timeswas to create a „hit list“ of those who took part in the October 7 attacks.
In some cases, Corsight's tools incorrectly identified people as affiliated with Hamas.
the soldiers said times Corsight's technology wasn't always accurate, especially when relying on grainy footage or photos where people's faces were obscured. In some cases, Corsight's tools incorrectly identified people as affiliated with Hamas. One such incident involved the Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha. He was pulled from an Israeli military checkpoint on Gaza's central highway in mid-November as he and his family were attempting to leave Gaza for Egypt. The system had alerted Abu Toha to Israel's wanted list. Israeli authorities detained Abu Toha in a detention center where he was beaten and interrogated for two days before being returned to Gaza without explanation.
The Israeli military has supplemented Corsight's technology with Google Photos (which, unlike Corsight, is free to use), soldiers said. times. The agents uploaded a database of „known people“ to Google Photos and used the photo search feature to further identify the person. One police officer said: times Google Photos is said to be better than other tools such as Corsight because it can identify people even when only a small portion of their face is visible.
Cosite executives and financiers have been vocal about their desire to support Israeli forces in the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. In October editorial jerusalem post, Aaron Ashkenazi, founder and managing partner of Canadian fund Awz Ventures, which led Corsight's $5 million funding round in 2020, said Awz is committed to Israel „to stop these evil terrorists in their tracks.“ „technical tools“ are provided. Most of the companies in Awz's portfolio are in the field of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
In October, some hospitals in Israel began using Corsight's technology to identify patients. forbes report at that time.by forbes According to the report, Corsight's technology was able to capture images of „people whose facial features have been affected by physical trauma“ and find matches among photos sent by the families involved. That's what it means.
Corsight primarily focuses on government, law enforcement, and military applications. In 2020, the one-year-old company started using its technology. Can identify faces wearing masks. Two years later, Cosite Claims to be developing a tool It may be possible to model a person's face based on their DNA. Last year, Cosite collaborated with the Metropolitan Police Department in Bogotá, Colombia. Track down murder and theft suspects By public transport.
Cosite did not respond to requests for comment.