Israel's AI targeting system: how data from a phone become a death sentence

5/13/2026 at 9:21:04 AM

> Experts warn that AI-powered systems could misidentify civilians.

That's obviously not an outcome Israel is overly concerned about.

by autoexec

5/10/2026 at 1:44:35 PM

What an upsetting read. This is just how you "breed" more terrorism.

by bwb

5/10/2026 at 2:24:13 PM

This is terrorism

by vcryan

5/10/2026 at 4:00:33 PM

eh? why did you reply to my comment with this one not about my comment?

by bwb

5/13/2026 at 9:42:21 AM

This is an impressive system and great that it’s put to good use by eliminating terrorists.

by syradar

5/13/2026 at 7:23:03 AM

Is this Palentir related ?

by stuaxo

5/13/2026 at 8:44:13 AM

https://www.hindrajabfoundation.org/donate

by xyzal

5/10/2026 at 5:56:03 PM

>a small village less than three miles from the Israeli border which had turned into a battlefield during Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in 2024.

Classic New York Times style writing. This sentence should say “Israel attacked this village as part of its invasion of southern Lebanon and Hezbollah defended it”

Imagine if this whitewashing were done to Russia: Karkiv, a small city 10 miles from the Russian boarder which had turned into a battlefield during Russia’s campaign against Zelenski in 2022”

by gregbot

5/13/2026 at 11:15:37 AM

Well, Hezbollah is not defending anything, all they do is shoot rockets and lately fly drones. That's because they don't really have the capability to do anything else, they're a militia up against a fully modernised army and they are forced to fight in an asymmetric manner and so on. One does not simply "defend" territory with irregulars.

I understand that they are in a difficult position for a force that wants to place itself as the legitimate resistance to an invading army, in fact that's the same situation that Hamas finds itself in but with a more obvious occupation (it's not clear to most people that parts of Lebanon are under Israeli occupation, or at least contested).

But what's the end result of fighting? Death and ruin. Nothing else. For Hamas, they had their little "triumph" in October 7 23 and then they lost half of Gaza and the other half is a wasteland. How is that "defending" anything, either the territory or the people? The same thing is happening in Southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah are just as incapable of doing anything to stop the IDF advance as Hamas were in Gaza. They can't defend a thing.

If we are to have any sympathy for the cause, if not the tactics or the ideology, of terrorist resistance groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, we have to also understand that their struggle is hopeless. Violence is clearly not the way for them to win, because the force they are fighting has all the violence. Non-violence is also not an answer because the force they fight has all the violence. They're screwed, quite bad, and there's no way out.

I think it's clear they don't fight to defend anything, just because there's nothing they can do and they might as well go down fighting, or they'll go insane. Or more insane.

by YeGoblynQueenne

5/12/2026 at 11:25:39 PM

Its not up to Hezbollah to defend it. Lebanon is not asking Hezbollah to do this.

by AuthAuth

5/13/2026 at 6:52:11 AM

Israel are stealing land, ethnically cleansing and flattening villages.

Hezbollah, whatever you may think of them, are the main security actor in the South. Why should they not defend their civilian population?

by specproc

5/13/2026 at 12:01:24 AM

Why did the Lebanese army not defend it then?

by xg15

5/13/2026 at 6:21:43 AM

Hezbollah at least recently was much stronger than Lebanese army and even nowadays Lebanese army afraid to challenge Hezbollah. Concept of a powerful non state actor is something many people in the west refuse to acknowledge.

by citrin_ru

5/13/2026 at 12:16:21 AM

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by JumpCrisscross

5/13/2026 at 12:32:17 AM

And I guess the one million Lebanese citizens who just permanently lost their homes just had bad luck...

by xg15

5/13/2026 at 12:35:43 AM

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by JumpCrisscross

5/13/2026 at 12:41:31 AM

> No, the folks up north traded their homes and security for keeping Beirut more or less intact.

Beirut (the parts where Hezbollah has the biggest presence, granted) is bombarded every few days...

> a force that fights no longer for the Lebanese people but entirely for a foreign leader.

This is the standard western/Israeli narrative in that regard. The Lebanese people seem to view that differently.

> though Netanyahu clearly does for personal political reasons.

Israel has to rid itself of Likud.

Netanyahu does lots of stuff for personal reasons, but with regards to the wars, there is little the opposition would do differently.

by xg15

5/13/2026 at 12:55:40 AM

> Beirut (the parts where Hezbollah has the biggest presence, granted) is bombarded every few days

Not in the way it would be if Lebanon declared war on Israel.

> Lebanese people seem to view that differently

Lebanon is uniquely diverse. The Lebanese I know absolutely see it this way, and with justification. (To be clear, that doesn’t make them peachy towards Israel doing the same.)

> with regards to the wars, there is little the opposition would do differently

Oof, I suspect you’re right. A unilateral course, then: the LAF disarms Hezbollah and then restores the Lebanese state’s monopoly on violence within its borders. Ideally timed to a change in political winds for Tel Aviv in America. Possibly with Turkish or even Saudi support. (Not holding my breath for the EU.)

by JumpCrisscross

5/13/2026 at 1:09:01 AM

> A unilateral course, then

No, why?

The problem I see: Even if Lebanon did that, there is still no guarantee that Israel would retreat from the areas in the south they occupied. Or even just that they'd stop with the airstrikes (they didn't stop during the previous ceasefire).

The political climate inside Israel seems to become more fundamentalist and belligerent, not less.

So there has to be an outside force that applies pressure to Israel. The only state able to do that is the US - but the US don't seem to be willing to do it.

Same with the Palestinians. Disarming Hezbollah would - very conveniently - remove one of the few remaining protective forces the Palestinians still have. So what would remain then?

by xg15

5/13/2026 at 7:23:26 AM

>Not in the way it would be if Lebanon declared war on Israel.

What would declaring a second war even imply? Lebanon and Israel are, and have been in an official state of war since 1948.

by l23k4

5/12/2026 at 11:29:18 PM

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by jakobov

5/13/2026 at 12:02:05 AM

> Israel has no animosity towards Lebanon.

Sure, they just take 10% of the country.

by xg15

5/13/2026 at 12:32:11 AM

Yeah, Israel’s geopolitical strategy increasingly resembles Russia’s: a preference for weak states on its borders.

Which is odd. Since it should be a maritime/trading power and seek to have rich, stable neighbours.

by JumpCrisscross

5/12/2026 at 11:50:13 PM

You say that like it was without any motive. Everyone knows Israel invaded and occupied Palestine starting in 1948.

by josefritzishere

5/13/2026 at 4:43:07 AM

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by george916a

5/12/2026 at 11:54:22 PM

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by JumpCrisscross

5/12/2026 at 11:59:45 PM

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by paulatreides

5/13/2026 at 12:05:57 AM

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by JumpCrisscross

5/13/2026 at 12:07:05 AM

Killing 70.000 as revenge for 1200 is not particularly blurry. Neither is ensuring that Palestinians live in perpetual misery.

by xg15

5/13/2026 at 12:08:26 AM

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by JumpCrisscross

5/13/2026 at 12:09:33 AM

Then maybe we shouldn't go out of our way to support one of those sides and provide the overwhelming firepower.

by xg15

5/13/2026 at 12:11:01 AM

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by JumpCrisscross

5/13/2026 at 12:18:57 AM

Good to read that you see it this way.

> There is bipartisan agreement on the first point.

I don't see how this can be true. The last initiatives to stop weapon sales all died in the House (although with shrinking majorities). Meanwhile weapon sales, military and intelligence cooperation and diplomatic protection continue with no change.

By now a majority among the US population has changed their mind on Israel - but the actual decisionmakers haven't and I don't see that they will in the future either.

> And we should pass into law a process, subject to judicial oversight, that bars even weapons sales to countries systematically engaging in war crimes.

This law already exists in form of the Leahy Law. Both Biden and Trump refused to apply the law to Israel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leahy_Law#The_Leahy_Law_and_Is...

by xg15

5/13/2026 at 12:25:22 AM

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by JumpCrisscross

5/13/2026 at 12:19:46 AM

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by paulatreides

5/10/2026 at 8:31:59 PM

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by myth_drannon

5/10/2026 at 8:42:23 PM

Are you saying that Israel intentionally targets civilians? As a signatory to the Geneva Conventions, Israel is obligated to protect civilians and civilian populations from all dangers arising from military operations, and Israel is prohibited from direct attacks on civilians. The IDF must distinguish between civilian and military objectives and take all feasible precautions to avoid or minimize incidental loss of civilian life. Civilians lose protected status only if they take a direct part in hostilities.

by diogenes_atx

5/12/2026 at 5:16:40 AM

As someone who has lost family and continues to. Have you not been paying attention to what has happened in Gaza? Conservatively.. Well over 20,000 children killed in Gaza alone. What would you call that?

I also recommend looking into an Ai system developed by the Israeli's called "Where's Daddy". Admittedly used during the the Gaza campaign by IOF themselves.

by SPCECDET

5/13/2026 at 1:45:14 AM

>Are you saying that Israel intentionally targets civilians?

Yes.

>As a signatory to the Geneva Conventions, Israel is obligated to protect civilians and civilian populations from all dangers arising from military operations, and Israel is prohibited from direct attacks on civilians.

They dont do it.

>The IDF must distinguish between civilian and military

They do this, then pull the trigger anyway.

by protocolture

5/13/2026 at 12:04:15 AM

Come on, dude...

by xg15

5/11/2026 at 6:55:32 AM

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by ajewhere2

5/11/2026 at 1:00:19 PM

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by myth_drannon

5/12/2026 at 10:24:52 PM

No idea what this is about but you can't post like this to HN. We ban accounts that attack others, so please don't do anything like that here.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

by dang

5/11/2026 at 6:53:22 AM

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by ajewhere2

5/13/2026 at 12:18:14 AM

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by aaron695

5/12/2026 at 10:46:56 PM

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by nathanbromeir

5/12/2026 at 10:41:59 PM

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by nathanbromeir

5/12/2026 at 11:09:30 PM

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by nathanbromeir

5/12/2026 at 11:02:16 PM

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by nathanbromeir

5/12/2026 at 10:43:04 PM

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by nathanbromeir

5/12/2026 at 11:06:35 PM

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by fhfhfjfffcc

5/12/2026 at 11:09:54 PM

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by cindyllm

5/12/2026 at 10:45:50 PM

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by juliusceasar

5/12/2026 at 11:23:35 PM

How is that proof?

by AuthAuth

5/13/2026 at 4:49:11 AM

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by george916a

5/13/2026 at 12:10:24 AM

Sounds to me like this is just signature strikes but replacing the analysts with AI.

And to think many would cheer if it were being applied to ends they approve of (enforcing some petty domestic law with fines and bureaucrats instead of taking foreign soil with bombs and soldiers, or whatever).

by cucumber3732842

5/13/2026 at 8:28:34 AM

You can appeal a fine. You can't appeal a missile.

by pjc50

5/13/2026 at 10:14:09 AM

> Ever since the spectacular pager attacks of September 2024

Describing one of the worst terror attacks on civilian targets, committed by Israel, as "spectacular" is a new level of manufacturing consent I have not seen before. Disgusting.

by pbiggar

5/13/2026 at 10:56:47 AM

You should look up the definition of spectacle. It isn’t necessarily a positive.

Same deal as “awesome”; people often misunderstand its meaning.

by ceejayoz

5/13/2026 at 6:02:52 AM

This is the fate that awaits us all once the machines take over

by fauchletenerum

5/13/2026 at 7:03:02 AM

This fatalism completely absolves the humans that choose to apply these systems

by finghin

5/13/2026 at 7:38:09 AM

Irrelevant

by fauchletenerum

5/12/2026 at 11:53:00 PM

“His family described him as a former fighter for the militant Islamist group, but who in his older age had taken an administrative role”

…this sounds like a valid military target. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that, bewilderingly, has declared war on Israel. Whether or not Israel should be mucking around in southern Lebanon is somewhat orthogonal to the validity of an attack on such a man. (And being able to reduce civilian casualties with a phone call is a good thing.)

Given the IDF’s record, I’d assume a more-sympathetic target could be found.

by JumpCrisscross

5/13/2026 at 12:52:00 AM

Would you say the same about a 40 year old suburban USA dad who is a Walmart store manager, who served in the US army for 8 years in his twenties? Is that a "valid military target"? Can Iran drop a bomb on the Walmart that he works in?

by chabska

5/13/2026 at 12:57:49 AM

> a 40 year old suburban USA dad who is a Walmart store manager, who served in the US army for 8 years in his twenties?

No. But if he’s still on the Army payroll, yes?

by JumpCrisscross

5/13/2026 at 11:21:15 AM

[delayed]

by YeGoblynQueenne

5/13/2026 at 1:47:13 AM

Like with a pension?

by Teever

5/13/2026 at 7:34:44 AM

>"taken an administrative role"

Not GP, but no... a pension is not similar to an administrative role.

by jimmydorry

5/13/2026 at 12:56:12 AM

So anyone who has ever served in the IDF is fair game? Got it

by noworriesnate

5/13/2026 at 12:57:18 AM

> anyone who has ever served in the IDF is fair game?

Aren’t they? Particularly if they’re still doing work for the IDF or are active reservists.

by JumpCrisscross

5/13/2026 at 1:33:13 AM

No, that’s the point, Israel wants their civilians to not be targeted even though many/ most of them have served in the IDF, but they targeted this man.

by noworriesnate

5/13/2026 at 6:15:33 AM

Joining armies used to mean something.

by DANmode

5/13/2026 at 12:11:43 AM

[flagged]

by paulatreides

5/13/2026 at 12:20:42 AM

There's certainly a good case to be made that Israel basically shaped Hezbollah into its current form as a terrorist organization. It's understandable, but not excusable. There's no excuse for a terrorist organization, on either side of the border.

by bryanlarsen

5/13/2026 at 12:29:16 AM

There seems to be enough excuses for the US congress tho, they weren't that bothered to aid and abet the extermination of Palestinians with bunker buster bombs that wiped out entire bloodlines. Unless you mean that there is no excuse for a "terrorist" organization that is not the ally of the USA.

by paulatreides

5/13/2026 at 1:26:26 AM

> There's no excuse for a terrorist organization, on either side of the border.

I disagree; consider Jewish resistance fighters during the holocaust. Should they not have fought back any way they could? Terrorism can be excused when the circumstances are sufficiently dire.

by anonymous_user9