Moroccan engineer Ibtihal Abousaad disrupted Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration to accuse the company of enabling Israel's war on Gaza by supplying AI technology used in military operations. Her protest, which went viral, led to the suspension of her social media and work accounts, while also drawing widespread online support and praise from Hamas. On Friday, American technology conglomerate Microsoft celebrated its 50th anniversary amid protests from one of its Moroccan employees. During a presentation by Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman on the company's long-term vision for its AI assistant product, Copilot, Microsoft engineer Ibtihal Abousaad interrupted, angrily pointing to the firm's ties with Israel. In a video shared online, Abousaad accused the American tech giant of allegedly «using AI for genocide», referring to Israel's war on Gaza. «You are a war profiteer. Stop using AI for genocide», Abousaad said at the event, which took place in Redmond, Washington, and was attended by an audience that included Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer. «Mustafa, shame on you», shouted Abousaad as she walked toward the stage where Suleyman was delivering his speech. «You claim that you care about using AI for good, but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military. Fifty thousand people have died, and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region», she argued. To which Suleyman responded: «I hear your protest, thank you». As she was escorted out of the room, Abousaad shouted that Suleyman and «all of Microsoft» had blood on their hands. The engineer also threw a keffiyeh scarf onto the stage. The scarf is seen as a sign of support for the Palestinian cause and a protest against Israel. Not afraid of retaliation Abousaad's protest went viral as the video was widely shared online. In an interview posted on Instagram following the protest, Abousaad said she does not fear «retaliation» from Microsoft. «They could come after me, but I think the fear of that retaliation does not counter the fear of working on technology that bombs innocents», she said. «My biggest fear is waking up for my nine-to-five and realizing that my code might kill children today». «That's why I spoke», the engineer added, «despite knowing there might be consequences». Reportedly, there were consequences. Abousaad was cited by the Associated Press as saying that she and another protesting employee lost access to their work accounts after the protest. Abousaad's LinkedIn and Facebook accounts were also suspended following the incident. Many users on LinkedIn used the hashtag #JusticeForIbtihal, asking Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Microsoft AI to restore her accounts, sharing screenshots of her «suspended» profile. On the other hand, Abousaad received widespread support online, with many people calling her protest «heroic», despite the risks to her job. Called a «hero» by Hamas In a press statement published on Saturday, Hamas said it highly appreciates «the heroic position of engineer Ibtihal Abousaad, who, with rare sacrifice and courage, illuminated the collusion of major international technology companies with the Zionist killing machine». Hamas further stated that Abousaad's act «embodies the purity of human conscience, the strength of the moral principle, and the determination to take positions that expose the bloody face of these institutions and companies and their role in criminal genocide operations against innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip, whatever the consequences of these heroic positions may be». Hamas called on «all workers in institutions that support the occupation and its crimes to follow the example of this heroic stance of engineer Ibtihal Abousaad». Abousaad's protest comes in the wake of revelations alleging that AI models developed by Microsoft and OpenAI were used as part of an Israeli military program to select bombing targets during its wars in Gaza and Lebanon, according to an Associated Press investigation. A Harvard graduate Before working for Microsoft, Ibtihal left Morocco in 2017 after earning a full scholarship to study Computer Science and Psychology at Harvard University. In an old Facebook post, Abousaad shared that her passion for tech and social impact began after she received a U.S. State Department grant to join the TechGirls program in 2016. Since then, she has promoted digital literacy among girls and underserved communities through initiatives like the IT-Weekend bootcamp, the Technovation Challenge, and the Digital Literacy Project. She also co-founded Recentibus, a nonprofit developing digital medical records for refugees. A screenshot of her suspended LinkedIn account shows that she works at Microsoft AI and is based in Toronto, Canada.
