How Project Nimbus Is Fueling Israel’s Military to Commit Genocide

What Is Project Nimbus?

Project Nimbus is a $1.2 billion tech deal made in 2021 between Google, Amazon, and the Israeli government. It brings powerful cloud and AI (artificial intelligence) tools to Israel and builds data centers inside the country. Supporters of the deal say it’s for modernizing technology. But for many of us who support Human rights, it’s deeply troubling. ‘Wired‘ reports that the Israel Defense Forces helped design Project Nimbus and will be one of its primary users.

This project helps the Israeli military grow stronger by using AI and cloud systems, while Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank continue to face daily violence, surveillance, and loss of freedom.

Key Facts:

• Signed by Google, Amazon, and Israel in 2021
• Worth $1.2 billion, building local data centers in Israel
• Protected from boycotts but not from international laws
• Said to be a “digital upgrade” for government and military use

Turning AI into a Weapon

This isn’t just about better computers. Project Nimbus gives Israel access to powerful AI tools like Google’s AutoML and Amazon’s SageMaker, which can:

• Recognize faces
• Track people through images and video
• Analyze surveillance data in real time

These aren’t just ordinary tech tools. Google’s AutoML lets the military quickly build AI models for facial recognition and predicting people’s movements, while Amazon’s SageMaker helps process huge amounts of surveillance footage and data instantly. Together, they make it possible to automatically spot, track, and label people as threats without anyone double-checking. UN experts warn that using AI to target civilians in Gaza can amount to ‘domicide’ (destroying entire communities).

Activists call this a kind of “digital apartheid,” where thousands of Palestinians can be flagged by algorithms and treated as targets. The same technology we use for simple tasks is being turned into a system that guides airstrikes and mass surveillance. When these AI systems are used in war, they make it easier and faster to find and attack targets, turning everyday tech into tools of oppression.

These tools were reportedly used in Gaza during the 2023-2024 war, helping the military find and hit targets. For Palestinians, this means even more powerful surveillance and airstrikes, powered by companies many of us use every day.

Used in Gaza and the West Bank

Leaked files show Nimbus was used in Gaza and possibly the West Bank for:

• Target identification using AI
• Surveillance and spying on people
• Predictive policing, where people are watched and judged by algorithms

By May 2024, UNRWA and Amnesty report over 15,000 children and 8,000 women killed in strikes. One leaked document shows over 37,000 Palestinians were flagged by AI as “persons of interest” — meaning the system marked them as potential threats, even without evidence. During the same period, a child was dying every ten minutes.

Cloud and AI tools from Project Nimbus aren’t just sitting in data centers, they’re actively being used in war. These systems now play a central role in Israel’s military operations. AI programs help choose targets and carry out deadly strikes, often with little or no human oversight. Since October 2023, more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed, including children and women. AlJazeera, 23 Apr 2024

Reports say many of these bombings were guided by AI, using cloud infrastructure provided by Google and Amazon. According to +972 Magazine and The Guardian, these tools, like facial recognition, predictive targeting, and surveillance analysis, are being used to identify targets in real time.

Leaked internal documents suggest that this AI targeting system was used to mark tens of thousands of Palestinians as “targets,” with minimal review. These so-called smart systems don’t understand the human cost. Newborn babies, families, and children are all treated as data points.

That means tools made by two of the world’s biggest tech companies are helping turn war into a machine-run operation, fast, automated, and devastating. When technology becomes part of the killing, companies can no longer say they’re neutral.

This raises huge concerns. Cloud and AI tools are helping to guide military attacks in crowded areas, where many civilians, including newborn babies and children, have been killed.

Protests Inside Google and Amazon

This project didn’t happen quietly. From the start, over 90 Google and 300 AWS employees signed the March 2021 letter, and inside Google and Amazon spoke out against Nimbus:

• In 2021, many signed letters accused the project of supporting human rights abuses.
• On April 18, 2024, Google fired 28 employees who protested at the office.
• One engineer was fired after calling Nimbus a tool for war crimes.
• There are also reports of unfair treatment of Muslim and Palestinian workers.

Google insists Nimbus is only for ‘commercial’ and ‘non-classified’ work, but refuses an independent audit. NPR April 19, 2024

People Are Demanding Justice

Many human rights groups and activists have condemned Project Nimbus:

• Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the EFF all raised red flags.
• Palestinian and Jewish anti-occupation groups have led protests.
• Protests have spread to universities and tech conferences.
• U.S. politicians like Elizabeth Warren and Ro Khanna demand more information or transparency, and Senator Warren demanded that Google and Amazon publish all risk assessments, calling Nimbus a threat to U.S. values. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren Press Release, May 2024

Activists call Nimbus part of a “digital apartheid,” where technology is used to control and harm an entire population.

What Google and Amazon Say

• Nimbus is not for military use, Amazon says. Nimbus follows all laws and our AI principles, even as employees speak out
• It follows their ethical guidelines

But Israeli officials openly say Nimbus is a key defense tool, like a digital version of the Iron Dome (Israel’s missile defense system). This shows how cloud technology is now a part of modern war, and Big Tech is playing a role.

Legal and Moral Problems

Under international law, targeting civilians is a war crime. HRW (Human Rights Watch) reports the forced displacement of 1.7 million Palestinians, a crime against humanity. If cloud tools are helping with that, Google and Amazon could be held responsible, and the same for Israel for killing innocent babies and civilians who have nothing to do with it.

This is similar to Project Maven, another military AI project that Google canceled after workers protested. But this time, Nimbus is still active, because this project will help Israel’s defense and technology grow stronger. Just for Israel, unjust and selfish motives.

Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank face daily threats from drones, surveillance towers, and bombs, and now, they face an invisible enemy: artificial intelligence trained to find, follow, and help strike them.

Project Nimbus shows us what happens when profit is put above people, and when cloud computing becomes part of the battlefield. It shows how technology, instead of empowering the oppressed, is being used to control them.

Final Thoughts

From a human rights perspective, Project Nimbus is more than just a tech contract; it’s a symbol of how modern technology is being used to fuel injustice.

When companies like Google and Amazon provide tools that can track, target, and surveil an already oppressed population, they are no longer neutral. They have become a part of oppression. These are the same tools many of us use daily, now weaponized in conflicts that cost innocent lives.

We must demand transparency, accountability, and ethical boundaries. We must support those who resist injustice, both inside companies and on the streets. And most importantly, we must continue to center Palestinian voices, who have been silenced for far too long.

But this is not enough to stop injustice and oppression; in reality, it won’t make much difference. For that, it’s our duty as humans to boycott companies that are supporting the oppression.

Here is a list of companies that are directly or indirectly involved in this genocide. Please try to boycott them as much as possible.

Investors who manage over $15 billion have asked Google and Amazon to stop working on Project Nimbus.

Will we stay silent while machines make war more efficient?
Or will we raise our voices for justice, dignity, and a future where no one’s freedom is sacrificed for power?

Free Palestine! Justice Now!

Sources Used

Here are the sources that support this blog’s position against the unjust Project Nimbus:

• Reuters. “Israel picks Amazon’s AWS, Google for flagship cloud project.” April 21, 2021
• Reuters. “Israel signs cloud services deal with Amazon, Google.” May 24, 2021
• Wikipedia. “Project Nimbus.”
• The Guardian. “We are Google and Amazon workers. We condemn Project Nimbus.” October 12, 2021
• WIRED. “The Hidden Ties Between Google and Amazon’s Project Nimbus and Israel’s Military.”
• Al Jazeera. “What is Project Nimbus—and why are Google workers protesting the Israel deal?” April 23, 2024
• TIME. “Exclusive: Google Workers Revolt Over $1.2 Billion Contract With Israel.” April 8, 2024
• NPR. “Google worker says the company is ‘silencing our voices’ after dozens are fired.” April 19, 2024
• The Verge. “Internal Google documents reveal concerns about its cloud contract with Israel.” December 3, 2024
• Common Dreams. “Why This Google Shareholder Wants an End to Project Nimbus.” June 2, 2022
• Middle East Eye, “Project Nimbus: Google employee accuses tech giant of profiteering off Palestinian pain.”September 2, 2022
• WIRED, “Activists Disrupt Amazon Conference Over $1.2 Billion Contract With Israel” Jun 26, 2024