Israeli company Corsight, based in Tel-Aviv, has developed a facial recognition tool
in the Gaza Strip for the purpose of identifying Hamas members. However, the
tool has not only been found inaccurate in its function, but also scans Palestinians
and creates their database with neither their knowledge nor consent.
Israel first developed its facial recognition program after the October 7 attacks, with the help of technology from Google Photos and Corsight’s custom tool. Following the attacks on October 7, Israeli officers from the IDF’s main intelligence unit attempted to identify potential Hamas members from security camera footage and photos and videos uploaded on social media by Hamas. They also forced Palestinian prisoners into identifying people from their communities that were associated with Hamas.
These identifications were then used by Corsight in its facial
recognition technology. The IDF also established checkpoints equipped with
facial recognition cameras along major roads that Palestinians had been using
to flee south.
Although Corsight claims that the tool is so precise that it
can detect a person accurately even if less than 50% of their face is visible,
it has been revealed by the IDF militias themselves that the tool has made
mistakes in the identification several times. In one of the cases, Palestinian
poet Mosab Abu Toha was arrested and tortured by the IDF, as he was mistaken
for being a Hamas member.
