Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reportedly met with commanders from Israel’s military surveillance agency Unit 8200 and personally approved a controversial project that has sparked internal resistance within the company. The arrangement allows Israel to store millions of Palestinian phone calls on Microsoft’s Azure cloud servers as part of an extensive surveillance operation that began in 2022.
According to reporting by The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call, Nadella’s joining a growing list of tech CEOs facing public backlash provided Israel with a customized and segregated area within the Azure platform to house these recordings. The surveillance system captures phone calls made by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank without their knowledge or consent, with sources indicating the project aimed to record “a million calls an hour.”
The scope of the surveillance effort extends beyond traditional intelligence gathering that Israel has conducted in occupied territories for years. Sources within Unit 8200 report that these recordings have been used to prepare deadly airstrikes and shape military operations throughout the region. Leaked Microsoft files suggest the majority of this data is stored in Azure facilities located in the Netherlands and Ireland.
Internal resistance grows among Microsoft employees
The revelation has prompted significant pushback from within Microsoft, with dozens of employees across various roles signing pledges echoing similar workplace protests at tech companies like Linus Media Group to refuse work on Azure contracts connected to Israel’s military operations. The employee group, operating under the name No Azure for Apartheid, is demanding that Microsoft terminate these military-related deals entirely.
For the record, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is a member of the #Bilderberg Steering Committee.
— Giorgio Bombassei (@GFBombassei) August 6, 2025
‘A MILLION CALLS AN HOUR’: ISRAEL RELYING ON MICROSOFT CLOUD FOR EXPANSIVE SURVEILLANCE OF PALESTINIANS"
Revealed: The Israeli military undertook an ambitious project to store a giant… pic.twitter.com/LnIvk3SoJw
The controversy reached a public stage in May when Nadella was interrupted during a keynote speech by an employee who called on the executive to address how Israeli military actions are supported by Azure technology. This incident highlighted the growing tension between company leadership and workers who oppose Microsoft’s involvement in military operations that have resulted in significant civilian casualties.
Microsoft commissioned an external review earlier this year that reportedly found no evidence that Azure or its AI products were being used to target or harm people in Palestinian territories. However, today’s reporting contradicts these findings, with Unit 8200 sources indicating that intelligence derived from the surveillance data has been used to identify bombing targets during Israel’s military campaign.
Company officials maintain they have “no information” about the specific type of data that Israel stores on their servers. A Microsoft representative stated that “at no time during this engagement has Microsoft been aware of the surveillance of civilians or collection of their cellphone conversations using Microsoft’s services, including through the external review it commissioned.”
The surveillance system’s usage reportedly increased during the military campaign in Gaza, where 60,000 people have been killed according to the reporting, including over 18,000 children. Israel has long controlled Palestinian telecommunications infrastructure in the occupied territories, but this new method captures conversations from a much broader pool of civilian populations.
Microsoft is not the only technology company facing scrutiny over its role in Israeli military operations. Recent reports have also found that Google employees have worked with the Israel Defense Forces and Israel’s Defense Ministry to expand government access to AI tools, raising broader questions about Silicon Valley’s involvement in military activities that many international observers have characterized as problematic.
