Two Microsoft employees were fired on Wednesday (August 27, 2025) after taking part in a sit-in at the office of the company’s president to protest the firm’s ties to Israel as it wages war in Gaza.

A Microsoft spokesperson said the workers were terminated following “serious breaches of company policies and our code of conduct” stemming from “the break-in at the executive offices.”

Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli received voicemails informing them that they were fired, the protest group No Azure for Apartheid said in a statement.

Also Read | Microsoft says it provided AI to Israeli military for war but denies use to harm people in Gaza

They were among seven protesters who were arrested on Tuesday (August 26, 2025) after occupying the office of company President Brad Smith. The other five were former Microsoft workers and people outside the company.

“We are here because Microsoft continues to provide Israel with the tools it needs to commit genocide while gaslighting and misdirecting its own workers about this reality,” Ms. Hattle said in a statement on Wednesday (August 27, 2025).

No Azure for Apartheid, whose name references Microsoft’s Azure software, has demanded that the company cut its ties to Israel and pay reparations to Palestinians. Mr. Smith said on Tuesday (August 26, 2025): “we respect the freedom of expression that everyone in this country enjoys as long as they do it lawfully.”

Also Read | Microsoft employee protests lead to 18 arrests as company reviews its work with Israel’s military

A joint media investigation has said an Israeli military surveillance agency was making use of Microsoft’s Azure software to store countless recordings of mobile phone calls made by Palestinians living in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza.

The investigation, conducted by the Guardian, Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, also said Israel relied on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians.

In response, Microsoft said this month it was turning to law firm Covington & Burling LLP to conduct a review.

Also Read | Microsoft fires employee who interrupted event to protest AI tech for Israeli military

Other Microsoft workers have also protested the company’s ties to Israel.

In April, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman’s remarks were interrupted by a pro-Palestinian protesting employee during the technology company’s 50th anniversary celebration over the firm’s ties with Israel. That employee and another protesting employee were also fired.

Other firms and educational institutions have faced protests over ties with Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza from Israel’s military assault has mounted, and images of starving Palestinians, including children, have sparked global outrage.

Microsoft employees, ex-employees, activists, and local supporters took over the software giant’s east campus in Redmond, Washington on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) to protest against Microsoft’s ties with Israel and raise awareness about the thousands of Palestinian civilians killed by Israel’s army.

The protest was coordinated by the No Azure for Apartheid organisation that runs campaigns against Microsoft’s business partnerships with the Israeli administration.

The protesters, who took over Microsoft’s East Campus Plaza, created what they called a “Liberated Zone” and renamed it as The Martyred Palestinian Children’s Plaza. Others displayed symbolic shrouds and art pieces that commemorated Palestinians of all ages who had been killed by Israel’s military, such as journalists Shireen Abu Akleh and Anas Al-Sharif, as well as children including five-year-old Hind Rajab. Some held up banners that directly blamed Microsoft for the violence and civilian deaths in Palestine.

In a statement posted on its website, No Azure for Apartheid urged Microsoft to cut ties with Israel, call for an end to the genocide and forced starvation, pay reparations to Palestinians, and end discrimination against workers who supported Palestine.

Members taking part in the protest interacted with Microsoft employees who were on their lunch break and walking through the plaza, per the group.

Microsoft has been previously accused of enabling Israel’s wartime violence in Gaza through its contracts with the country. However, Microsoft on May 15 published a post stating that it “found no evidence to date that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies have been used to target or harm people in the conflict in Gaza.”

However, on August 15, the company added that it was investigating allegations reported by The Guardian newspaper on August 6 related to Microsoft Azure being used by a unit of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

“The Guardian, on that date, reported that multiple individuals have asserted that the IDF is using Azure for the storage of data files of phone calls obtained through broad or mass surveillance of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank. Microsoft’s standard terms of service prohibit this type of usage,” said Microsoft in an update to its earlier statement and confirmed it would conduct a review.

No Azure for Apartheid claimed that Microsoft’s investigation was a “sham” and called on the company to take immediate action against Israel.

“For 34 years, Microsoft embedded itself in the economy of apartheid and genocide through its Israeli development centers, its acquisitions of Israeli cybersecurity and surveillance start-ups, and its never-ending contracts and deep partnerships with the Israeli military, the Israeli prison service, the Israeli government, and Israeli weapons manufacturers,” claimed No Azure for Apartheid in a statement, adding that Microsoft’s technology also powered Israel’s mass-surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

“This deep relationship established Microsoft as the technological backbone to the Israeli genocidal machine through the sale of Cloud and AI digital weapons to the Israeli military,” alleged the organisation.

The protesters were later instructed by the police to leave the area.