Modern technology today is no longer merely a set of tools for communication or information processing; rather, it has become an integrated environment within which states, societies, institutions, and contemporary conflicts operate. With the major expansion of artificial intelligence, digital platforms, satellites, drones, and cyber infrastructures, the world now exists within a “digital conflict and competition environment” in which information, influence, communication, perception, and political and security decision-making overlap in unprecedented ways.

Within this environment, wars and conflicts are no longer managed solely through traditional military confrontations, but are increasingly conducted simultaneously within cyberspace, the information domain, and arenas of media and cognitive influence. Data — along with its analysis and interconnection — as well as the ability to manage narratives and shape public opinion, have become essential components in building modern power and managing conflict. Superiority is therefore no longer linked only to the size of military force, but also to the ability to understand, manage, and influence the information environment.

From this perspective, this discussion seeks to provide a simplified analytical reading of how digital transformations and artificial intelligence are affecting the nature of intelligence work, modern warfare, and national security, while linking this to examples related to Gaza, Sudan, and the broader regional environment, within an increasingly complex context in which states and societies operate inside a “digital conflict and competition environment,” where military power, informational influence, cyberspace, and societal perception intersect in shaping the nature and outcomes of contemporary conflicts.

How has modern technology changed the nature of intelligence work in the Middle East?

The nature of the conflict environment

Modern technology, and the emergence of what may be described as a “digital conflict and competition environment,” have transformed intelligence work from relying on the collection of fragmented information into managing a comprehensive and interconnected information environment. Intelligence today no longer depends solely on traditional sources; instead, it increasingly relies on big data analytics, artificial intelligence, satellites, drones, communications analysis, social media platforms, and the real-time integration of operational and intelligence information within integrated command-and-control systems.

This became evident in the Russo-Ukrainian War, where commercial satellite imagery, such as the services provided by Maxar Technologies, played a significant role in revealing military movements before operations began. Cloud technology companies such as Microsoft and Google also became part of states’ cybersecurity and information-analysis infrastructure.

The specificity of the conflict environment in the Middle East

In the Middle East, an additional specificity emerges, as the region has increasingly become an arena of conflict within the “digital conflict and competition environment” between powerful actors possessing technology, digital infrastructure, satellites, cyber capabilities, and tools of analysis and influence, and fragile or resource-limited actors that lack many of the instruments of digital power or informational independence within cyber and informational battlefields.

This reality has created a major gap in the ability to collect and analyze information, manage narratives, influence perception, and protect the national digital environment. States or actors that possess platforms, algorithms, cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence capabilities, and the integration of intelligence and military systems now hold greater capacity to understand the operational environment, shape public opinion, manage conflict, and direct political and security decision-making almost instantaneously.

Meanwhile, weaker actors often find themselves within this digital space — or “digital conflict and competition environment” — in a position of receiving, being penetrated, or being influenced by external narratives and informational pressures, without genuinely possessing the tools of control, influence, or digital independence.

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Margin of manoeuvre and action

Accordingly, intelligence superiority in the Middle East is no longer linked merely to possessing traditional surveillance tools; rather, it has become tied to the ability to understand and manage operations within this digital space, and to integrate its informational, cognitive, and operational dimensions into a comprehensive system for decision-making and influence.

In the absence of informational and cyber independence among many actors, the margin for manoeuvre and defense has become increasingly narrow. The ability to protect the digital environment and informational sovereignty has therefore become an essential component of national security and strategic power in the region.

What is the impact of electronic surveillance on the daily lives of Palestinians under occupation?

With regard to the situation of Palestinians inside the occupied territories, electronic surveillance — through the control and exploitation of the digital environment and its technologies — no longer appears to be merely a security tool linked to tracking movements or gathering information. Rather, it has become part of the daily environment within which Palestinians live, placing life itself under a continuous space of monitoring, analysis, and control.

Modern technologies — including smart cameras, facial recognition technologies, data analysis, interconnected databases, and the digital monitoring of communications and movement — now directly affect freedom of movement, privacy, social relations, patterns of gathering and communication, and even the individual sense of safety and freedom. Reports issued by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented the expanding use of biometric surveillance systems and facial recognition technologies within the occupied Palestinian territories.

In this context, the impact is no longer limited to the traditional security dimension, but has extended to the human and cognitive dimensions, as individuals and communities live under a constant sense of surveillance and the possibility of tracking and analysis. This reality directly affects daily behavior, freedom of expression, social trust, and the ability to organize and interact within the public sphere.

Multiple reports have also indicated that the digital environment has become part of the broader system of security and administrative control, whereby data, digital identity, and movement patterns are transformed into instruments of regulation and control. In the report Automated Apartheid issued by Amnesty International, the use of systems such as “Red Wolf” in the city of Hebron was documented. These systems rely on facial recognition technologies and the linking of biometric data to security screening and movement control at checkpoints. Journalistic and analytical reports have also discussed the expansion of surveillance systems and the integration of cameras and digital data networks across the West Bank and Gaza.

Reports concerning the use of intelligent data-analysis systems and data integration in Gaza have further sparked wide discussions regarding the impact of modern technology on human rights, privacy, freedoms, human security, and the limits of using artificial intelligence in conflict environments.

Human rights and technical reports have also warned that the integration of artificial intelligence, data analysis, and large-scale surveillance could lead to an unprecedented expansion in capabilities of control and targeting, particularly in environments already suffering from humanitarian and security fragility.

Has media warfare become an essential part of conflict?

Absolutely yes. Media warfare has become one of the most important fronts of modern conflict because it operates directly within the cognitive dimension of the “digital space.” The battle is no longer fought solely over control of territory, but also over control of the narrative, perception, and what people see,........

© Middle East Monitor