Humanoid Robot | A phantom for the Gaza underground

Foundation is said to have already tested two Phantom MK1s in Ukraine - but with little success. Photo: Wikipedia According to a UN report, Israel used 200,000 tons of explosives and ammunition in the Gaza Strip in the first two years of the war alone, which is equivalent to the destructive power of 13 Hiroshima bombs. At least 80 percent of the buildings in the area half the size of Hamburg have been destroyed - probably including the Hamas tunnels, which existed to an unclear extent and whose destruction the army had named as a war aim. But they still have to be used as a justification for further Israeli attacks.

Humanoid robots called Phantom MK1 could soon search for Hamas members who are still alive in this dubious underground. The robots are manufactured by Foundation Future Industries, a start-up based in San Francisco. Co-founder Mike LeBlanc said in an interview with the Financial Times that he was in talks with Israel's chief of staff about selling up to 1,000 robots. According to the British Telegraph, a copy costs around 130,000 euros.

LeBlanc has also visited Hamas tunnels with the Israeli military and a Phantom MK1. However, after the interview was published, a Foundation spokesman backtracked: There is no Foundation contract with Israel and the discussions were "early and exploratory."

The company presented the robot for military purposes to the public in October 2025, a year after it was founded. He is 1.75 meters tall, matt black and weighs around 80 kilograms. Instead of a face, a surface with cameras adorns the head of the Phantom MK1. Foundation boss Sankaet Pathak announced last year that he wanted to build up to 50,000 devices by the end of 2027.

In February, Foundation is said to have sent two Phantom MK1s to Ukraine, where they brought ammunition and supplies to positions for tests. However, as the US broadcaster CNBC reports, the devices were weak: the payload of 20 kilograms turned out to be too low for war use, the battery was too weak for longer missions, and the robot was also not waterproof. Apparently the humanoid cannot get up on its own after a fall.

The successor called Phantom MK2 is supposed to fix that. Pathak attests to him having “superhuman abilities” and carrying double the load. According to the company, it should be able to run for six hours. Foundation also wants to develop weapons for the robot - with wrists that make shooting easier.

Since March, the US president's son Eric Trump has been "chief strategy advisor" at Foundation Future Industries and holds shares in the company. “He loves the robots,” says LeBlanc. That could explain why the co-founder is advertising the Phantom MK1 for use in supposed Hamas tunnels: Father Donald Trump announced at the beginning of 2025 that he wanted to relocate 2.1 million residents of Gaza to other Arab states and transform the coastal strip into a “Riviera of the Middle East”. There would no longer be room for Gaza's population in Trump's "Riviera." For his son's robot business, yes.

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