Microsoft has dismissed four employees who staged protests against the company’s business links with Israel during its war in Gaza.

Two of those fired, Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli, had participated in a sit-in at the office of company president Brad Smith earlier this week, according to the activist group No Azure for Apartheid.

The group stated that Hattle and Fameli received voicemail messages informing them of their dismissal, while two others – Nisreen Jaradat and Julius Shan – were also subsequently fired.

Microsoft said the terminations followed “serious breaches of company policies,” adding that the protests created “significant safety concerns.”

Hattle was among seven people arrested on Tuesday after occupying Smith’s office. The other detainees were former staff and outside protesters. Smith has said Microsoft respects freedom of expression “as long as they do it lawfully.”

No Azure for Apartheid, named after Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, accuses the firm of enabling Israel’s military surveillance of Palestinians.

A recent joint investigation by the Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call reported that Israel’s military intelligence agency was using Azure to store mass phone recordings from the West Bank and Gaza.

Microsoft said it has asked US law firm Covington & Burling to review the findings.

The protests add to wider unrest at tech firms and universities over ties to Israel, as images of devastation and hunger in Gaza fuel global condemnation of Israel’s offensive.

The conflict erupted in October 2023 after Hamas’s attack on Israel killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 taken hostage.