Microsoft fires 4 US workers over protests against Israel ties, as Gaza toll mounts

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Microsoft has fired four employees for staging protests on company premises against the firm's ties to Israel.

Two of them had joined a sit-in this week at the office of company president Brad Smith, the protest group No Azure for Apartheid said on Thursday, according to Reuters.

The group said Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli received voicemails informing them of their dismissal after Tuesday's sit-in. 

Two more workers, Nisreen Jaradat and Julius Shan, were later terminated after setting up encampments at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

Microsoft said the firings followed "serious breaches" of company policies and that recent demonstrations had created "significant safety concerns." 

Seven protesters were arrested during the sit-in at Smith's office, five of whom were former employees or outside activists.

The protests have targeted Microsoft's Azure cloud platform, which a joint investigation by the Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call found was being used by an Israeli military surveillance agency to store vast numbers of phone call recordings from Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. 

Microsoft said it has asked law firm Covington & Burling LLP to review the claims.

Azure, Microsoft's flagship cloud service, offers computing, AI, networking and storage tools to governments and corporations worldwide. 

Activists have demanded the company end its contracts with Israel and pay reparations to Palestinians.

Israel's military campaign in Gaza, launched after the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023 that killed about 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage, has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead. 

UN agencies estimate at least 52,000 people have been killed, with some independent counts placing the toll at more than 80,000. 

Nearly 1.9 million Gazans—90 per cent of the enclave's population—have been displaced.

The International Criminal Court in November 2024 issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

Leaders in Europe, Latin America and Africa have publicly denounced Netanyahu, while the United States has opposed the ICC move.

India, though calling for an immediate ceasefire, uninterrupted humanitarian aid and a two-state solution, abstained from a UN General Assembly ceasefire resolution in June, drawing criticism from the opposition parties.