The Israeli military has been altering commercial drones to carry bombs and surveil people in Gaza, an investigation by Al Jazeera’s Sanad verification agency has found.
According to Sanad, drones manufactured by the Chinese tech giant DJI have been used to attack hospitals and civilian shelters and to surveil Palestinian prisoners being forced to act as human shields for heavily armoured Israeli soldiers.
This is not the first time DJI drones have been modified and used by armies. There were similar reports about both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. At the time, DJI suspended all sales to both countries and introduced software modifications that restricted the areas where its drones could be used and how high they could fly.
However, DJI has not stopped selling drones to Israel.
Pretty much no consequences for anyone supporting and allowing the genocide to continue. With Russia-Ukraine, they obviously didn’t want to piss off either side, because they’ve got customers on both sides they want to sell to. But every ruling class knows that there are no consequences for getting in on the action killing Palestinians. And Palestinians aren’t a market they can make a handsome profit in.
Yeah but it is kinda weird that DJI refuses to cut off what is so obviously being used for massive war crimes in Gaza. Not great PR either. Israel isn’t that big a customer and cutting it off would be easily excusable.
Not selling to Israel could make all the other right-wing countries they sell to nervous. But stuff like this from China is such a betrayal. About as much of one as Vietnam buying arms from Israel. It sucks that the only principled countries are the ones that are the most targeted by the US, and have the least capability to help others (although they certainly do what they can, like the Cuban doctors program, or Yemen keeping Palestine close).
They should at least demand the IDF to stop using their drones for warfare. China can easily invoke international law as an excuse seeing as how there is tonnes of evidence the IDF is actively using DJI and Autel drones in the Gaza genocide.