Israel’s AI Targeting System Fuses Smartphone Data to Kill Ahmad Turmus, 62

Israel’s military has used an artificial-intelligence targeting system that fuses data from smartphones, security and traffic cameras, Wi‑Fi signals, drones and social media, and the Los Angeles Times describes how that data can become “a death sentence.”

“For the first time, the Israeli military used an FPV drone (First Person View, 'view from the pilot's perspective') to neutralize a moving target in Lebanon”

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In the account, the Israeli drone buzz is described as “constant,” and Ahmad Turmus, 62, is said to have been targeted after an Israeli military officer asked him, “Ahmad, you want to die with those around you or alone?”

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The Los Angeles Times says Israel acknowledged the targeting of Turmus, and it frames the killing as part of an intelligence war in which Hezbollah “appears to have no answer.”

The article ties the system’s use to earlier Israeli operations, saying that “Ever since the spectacular pager attacks of September 2024” foot soldiers, support personnel, field commanders, chiefs of staff and even a “revered secretary general” have been felled by a targeting system powered by artificial intelligence.

It also describes the system’s data pipeline as drawing from “phone metadata, location pings, SIM card swaps, app usage, social media behavior,” and it says “A lot is ‘scraped’ from commercial platforms, mobile networks, partner intelligence agencies, or spies on the ground.”

The Los Angeles Times adds that once collected, platforms such as Palantir’s Maven “standardize, tag and score all the data,” linking it to identities across devices and accounts, and it says AI can then “build a timeline of a subject’s activity and map the network of their relationships.”

The Los Angeles Times says the targeting system “fuses data from various sources, including smartphones, security and traffic cameras, Wi-Fi signals, drones and social media,” and it reports that “Experts warn that AI-powered systems could misidentify civilians.”

It describes how the system can use “cell-site simulators — known as ‘stingrays’ — to masquerade as cellphone towers and trick his smartphone into connecting,” which would grant access “not only to Turmus’ data but his movements in real time.”

Los Angeles Times

The article also says that even if Turmus switched SIM cards, he still “would have been tracked,” according to an AI specialist who worked with defense firms until he raised concerns about the use of such systems in Gaza.

That specialist’s description of the system’s inputs includes “phone metadata, location pings, SIM card swaps, app usage, social media behavior,” and it says the data can be “scraped” from “commercial platforms, mobile networks, partner intelligence agencies, or spies on the ground.”

The Los Angeles Times further states that “Once collected, platforms, such as Palantir’s Maven, standardize, tag and score all the data,” and it says AI then “build[s] a timeline of a subject’s activity and map[s] the network of their relationships.”

In parallel, the Al Jazeera Net piece describes an “Operational Information Factory” and says algorithms were “honed amid the rubble of the Gaza Strip,” turning “millions of data points from satellite images, live video feeds, and even whispers over the radio” into “red coordinates on the leaders’ screens.”

Multiple sources connect Israel’s targeting infrastructure to commercial and U.S. military AI systems.

“A company in Portland, Oregon, that specializes in AI targeting for drones has made significant shipments of materials to military contractors in Israel, according to cargo data reviewed by The Intercept”

The Intercept

The Los Angeles Times says “Palantir has spoken openly about its work with the Israeli military,” and it describes Maven as a platform that “standardize[s], tag[s] and score[s] all the data,” linking it across devices and accounts.

The Al Jazeera Net article, meanwhile, describes a broader architecture, saying the Israeli army revealed the activation of a full AI infrastructure known as the “Operational Information Factory,” and it says the “Central Military Cloud” replaced traditional command rooms.

It quotes Haaretz as saying the “information treasure” is “made available by the 'Military Cloud' to all units and branches,” and it says the system “turn[s] raw data into precise targeting plans that place decisions of killing and destruction in the hands of commanders in fractions of a second.”

The Oman-based Arabic-language column “Stoking Wars” explicitly names “MAVEN” as an American project that “began in 2017,” and it says it “evolved to become the backbone of U.S. military operations.”

That column says MAVEN “collects data from hundreds of sources—from satellites, drones, sensors, intercepted phone calls, and other sources—to accelerate the decision to kill,” and it describes a “full kill cycle” in which AI begins with planning, monitoring and surveillance and then executes the strike.

Beyond targeting software, the sources also describe how drone warfare is defended and enabled through counter-drone systems and interceptor drones.

The Al-Balad News article says Gulf states and their American partners have turned to “Ukrainian-made counter-drone technology,” tested in combat against Russian drone assaults, and it reports that in late March Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar would share drone-countering expertise and sign defense agreements lasting 10 years.

Al-Balad News

It also says Reuters reported that the U.S. military deployed “Sky Map, an Ukrainian-made command-and-control platform” at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, where “Ukrainian officers travel to the base to train American troops on the program.”

The same briefing provides cost comparisons, saying each Shahed-136 drone costs between $20,000 and $50,000, while “the American Patriot interceptors used to shoot them down” cost about $4 million each.

It describes Shahed-136 as “a one-way Iranian attack drone” with a triangular shape “about 3.5 meters long (11.5 feet)” and a wingspan “about 2.5 meters (8.2 feet),” and it says its low altitude and small radar signature make it difficult for traditional automated systems to engage until it is very close.

The Al-Baydar Political piece repeats that cheap one-way drones have played a major role since the first attack in Tehran on February 28, and it adds that Ukrainian interceptor drones range in price from about $1,000 to $3,000.

The Intercept reports that an AI targeting company in Portland, Oregon has made shipments of hardware to Israeli military contractors, and it frames the disclosures as prompting protests in Portland.

“Cheap, one-way drones produced in large quantities have played a major role in the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran since the first attack in Tehran on February 28”

Al-Bayadir al-Siyasi

The article says cargo data reviewed by The Intercept show that Sightline Intelligence, a firm focused on AI video processing, has made “at least 10 shipments of hardware to the Israeli weapons giant Elbit Systems since 2024,” according to investigators with the Movement Research Unit.

Al-Bayadir al-Siyasi

It says the shipments raise the possibility that the “boutique Pacific Northwest tech firm” helped the Israeli military “attack people in places like Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, among others,” and it reports protests by activists in Portland.

The Intercept quotes Olivia Katbi, a member of Portland Democratic Socialists of America and an organizer with the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, saying, “We really want our city councilors to help us follow up and look into what Sightline is doing,” and it adds her questions: “Are they producing these items here in our city? What is their relationship with Elbit Systems in Israel?”

The article also quotes Movement Research Unit’s Abdullah F., who says, “They’ve been connected to the death of many civilians,” and he adds that drones are “a critical part also of the surveillance architecture.”

The Intercept says it independently verified the dates and corresponding cargo weights of those shipments from Portland to Israel, and it reports that “Six of the shipments passed through John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and four went through Newark International Airport in New Jersey.”