Amazon Cloud Data Centres Hit by Drone Strikes in Gulf amid Middle East Conflict

Several Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centres in the Middle East have been damaged by drone strikes and related attacks amid the ongoing war involving the United States, Israel and Iran, according to updates from the company and international news reports.

Amazon confirmed that two of its data centres in the United Arab Emirates were directly struck by drones, with a third facility in Bahrain affected by a nearby strike, leading to structural damage, disrupted power supply and cloud service outages across its network.

The incidents, which caused damage to infrastructure and in some cases required fire suppression that resulted in water damage, have forced Amazon to work with local authorities on recovery efforts while prioritising the safety of staff. The company has warned that continued instability in the region could lead to further operational challenges and advised customers to consider backing up data or shifting workloads to other AWS regions.

This development marks a rare instance of major global technology infrastructure being directly impacted by military action in the Gulf, highlighting the far-reaching effects of the conflict on commercial systems and cloud services relied on by businesses and organisations worldwide.

Share to: