The protests began on Friday when Aboussad interrupted AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman’s presentation during the company’s 50th-anniversary event, shouting that he had “blood on his hands” and accusing Microsoft of enabling the Israeli military with AI weapons. “50,000 people have died, and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region,” she said.

Later, Agrawal disrupted a separate panel featuring CEO Satya Nadella, former CEO Steve Ballmer and founder Bill Gates, shouting: “Shame on all of you… Cut ties with Israel.”

Following the protests, Aboussad emailed Microsoft staff and executives, alleging that the company had suppressed dissent among employees. The email included a link to a petition from “No Azure for Apartheid,” a group of Microsoft employees who have previously protested against the company’s ties to Israel.

Microsoft responded to Aboussad’s email, saying that they acknowledged her “misconduct” and asserting that the “immediate cessation” of her employment “is the only appropriate response.”

Agrawal similarly expressed her concerns in an email, criticising Microsoft’s involvement in the military-industrial complex and labelling the company as being “complicit” in supporting surveillance, apartheid and genocide.