38 No. 76 JUSTICE ntroduction New and emerging technologies transform the modern battlefield,1 as demonstrated by the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications during the Israel–Hamas war.2 While the introduction of military AI-based tools could enhance capabilities and promote compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL), the deployment of novel and unregulated technologies raises profound legal and moral dilemmas, further deepening the complexities of warfare, also known as “the province of uncertainty.”3 This article explores the Israeli experience and reflects on the proper way forward. As will be shown, there is room for prudence when deploying new military capabilities. First, there is a need to reconcile inherent problems with AI-based tools, like the lack of transparency and explainability, by insisting on a human in the decision loop. Second, there is a need to consider how existing norms can be applied in this changing reality. Third, it is important to evaluate the legality of new technologies through prophylactic impact assessment processes. Section II examines the role of technology in the Israeli security apparatus, and the use of AI by the IDF in the war against Hamas. Section III discusses the challenges associated with AI. Section IV presents the need for a legality review mechanism for weapons, means, or methods of warfare. II. Israel, Technology, and Warfare A. Background Israel has been politically isolated in the Middle East for many decades. It has had to develop significant technological military capabilities in order to bolster national defenses4 because of the military threats it faces.5 Today, Israel is a leading actor in the global technological arena,6 harnessing its capabilities to complement the country’s diplomatic toolbox.7 We have witnessed a quantum leap in the development of AI capacities and applications in recent years. On the regulatory level, the developments arrive at a slower pace, in an era of growing polarization that inhibits international cooperation in many contexts.8 Currently, States prefer to pursue their own interests rather than opt for a framework that can accommodate different national Artificial Intelligence in the Israel-Hamas War: The Future Is Here Tal Mimran 1. Tal Mimran and Yuval Shany, “Integrating Privacy Concerns in the Development and Introduction of New Military or Dual-Use Technologies,” in THE RIGHTS TO PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION IN TIMES OF ARMED CONFLICT 29 (Russell Buchan and Asaf Lubin, eds., 2022). 2. Tal Mimran, Magda Pacholska, Gal Dahan & Lena Trabucco, “Beyond the Headlines: Combat Deployment of Military AI-Based Systems by the IDF,” ARTICLES OF WAR (Feb. 2, 2024), available at https://lieber. westpoint.edu/beyond-headlines-combat-deploymentmilitary-ai-based-systems-idf/ (“Beyond the Headlines”). 3. This term was coined by Carl von Clausewitz, ON WAR (J. J. Graham, trans., 1874), available at https://www. gutenberg.org/files/1946/1946-h/1946-h.htm 4. There is a claim that Israel disabled radar systems in Syria on September 6, 2007 to enable an air strike against a nuclear facility. See Sharon Weinberger, “How Israel Spoofed Syria's Air Defense System,” WIRED (April 10, 2007), available at https://www.wired.com/2007/10/ how-israel-spoo/ 5. Tal Mimran, “Cyberspace – The Hidden Aspect of the Conflict,” ARTICLES OF WAR (Nov. 30, 2023), available at https://lieber.westpoint.edu/cyberspace-hidden-aspectconflict/ 6. Jasper Frei, ISRAEL’S NATIONAL CYBERSECURITY AND CYBERDEFENSE POSTURE: POLICY AND ORGANIZATIONS 5 (ETH Zurich 2020), available at https://css.ethz.ch/ content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/center-forsecurities-studies/pdfs/Cyber-Reports-2020-09-Israel. pdf (“Frei”). 7. For discussion, see Tal Mimran, “Between Israel and Iran: Middle-East Attitudes to the Role of International Law in the Cyber-Sphere,” 20 BALTIC YEARBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 209, 221-224 (2022) (“Mimran, Between Israel and Iran”). 8. See Roy Schondorf, “Israel’s perspective on Key Legal and Practical Issues Concerning the Application of I
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