Microsoft cuts off cloud services to Israeli military unit after report of storing Palestinians' phone calls

Core Points - Microsoft has ceased providing certain services to a division of the Israeli Ministry of Defense following an investigation into reports of the Israeli Defense Forces' Unit 8200 tracking Palestinians' phone calls [1][2][3] - The decision was influenced by employee protests against the company's software being used in the context of the Gaza invasion, leading to the termination of five employees involved in the protests [3][4] - Microsoft disabled cloud-based storage and AI subscriptions used by the Israeli defense agency, emphasizing that it does not review customer data for such investigations [4][5] Company Actions - Microsoft conducted a review prompted by a report from The Guardian, which revealed potential misuse of its services by the Israeli military [2][3] - The company communicated its decision to Israeli defense officials, indicating a commitment to privacy protection and trust in its services [4][5] - Following the cessation of services, it was reported that Unit 8200 may migrate its operations to Amazon Web Services, highlighting competitive dynamics in the cloud services market [5]