Israelis to use facial recognition tech to 'screen' Palestinians in need of aid
The Israeli regime has approved a scheme allowing the use of advanced facial recognition technology to “screen” the Palestinians in need of humanitarian aid.
Media reports said on Thursday that Israeli cabinet members had agreed to slap new restrictions on the distribution of humanitarian aid and food supplies to Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, including mandatory facial recognition.
“Palestinians would be coming to these places, registered and screened through facial recognition technology. They’d pick up parcels for their family,” NPR reported, citing an Israeli official.
“It’s actually part of a bigger strategy to get Palestinian civilians to move en masse to a smaller, more consolidated area of Gaza so that the military can expand the territory that it’s taking over in Gaza,” added the report.
Meanwhile, the New York Times had reported earlier this year that the Israeli regime was already using facial recognition technology purchased from private Israeli company Corsight, as well as Google Photos.
However, the NYT report added that the Israeli-made technology failed to do its job.
The United Nations has condemned the latest Israeli move, criticizing the added restrictions against the Palestinians. UNICEF spokesman James Elder said it “contravenes basic humanitarian principles” and is designed to “reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic.”
The world body has repeatedly warned of a man-made famine across the entirety of Gaza if the Israeli regime forces continue to block aid to the Palestinian land.
The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement, in a statement on Wednesday, reiterated that using starvation as a tactic against over two million Gazans is a clear violation of international law.
Hamas said the occupying regime has enforced a complete blockade on Gaza for more than seventy consecutive days, restricting all access to essential supplies such as food, medicine, water, and fuel.
It urged the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the United Nations to implement immediate and decisive measures to halt the ongoing genocide and widespread famine, as well as to ensure accountability for Israeli war criminals.
Meanwhile, the Israeli regime forces resumed the genocidal war on Gaza on March 18, killing thousands of Palestinians, and injuring many others, after it shattered the 2-month ceasefire agreement with Hamas and the deal on the exchange of Israeli captives with Palestinian abductees.
More than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, since the brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza started on October 7, 2023.
In the meantime, US President Donald Trump reiterated the American plan to occupy Gaza.
Trump, who is on tour in West Asia, said on Thursday that he would support direct US involvement in Gaza, suggesting that the US “take” the besieged territory and transform it into what he called a “freedom zone.”
“I have concepts for Gaza … I’d be proud to have the US take it, make it a freedom zone.”
