Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing division of Amazon, has confirmed that three of its data centres in the Middle East were damaged by drone strikes. The incident happened amid rising regional tensions and military escalation. According to the company’s official statements, two facilities in the United Arab Emirates were directly hit. A third facility in Bahrain was also affected due to a nearby strike.
The drone strikes caused structural damage to the buildings that house critical cloud infrastructure. AWS reported that power systems inside the facilities were disrupted after the impact. In addition, fire suppression systems were activated, which led to water damage in certain sections. These combined factors created serious operational challenges.
The two UAE data centres suffered direct drone impacts, leading to significant service interruptions. Availability zones within the affected region experienced outages and degraded performance. In Bahrain, although the building was not directly struck, surrounding infrastructure damage impacted connectivity. This included interruptions in electricity and network stability.
AWS clarified that the disruption was caused by physical damage, not a cyberattack. Many core cloud services were affected during the incident. Services related to computing power, data storage, and databases experienced temporary unavailability. Businesses relying on these services faced slowdowns and outages.
Cloud data centres are physical buildings filled with servers, networking systems, and cooling equipment. These facilities are essential for running websites, mobile apps, financial systems, and enterprise platforms. When power or cooling systems fail, servers cannot operate safely. Even short interruptions can affect millions of users.
The company stated that recovery efforts are currently underway. Engineers are working to assess structural damage and restore infrastructure safely. AWS is also coordinating with local authorities and emergency teams. Employee safety has been prioritised during the recovery process.
Customers in the region have been advised to consider shifting critical workloads to other AWS regions. This helps reduce downtime while repairs continue in the affected locations. AWS mentioned that restoration may take longer due to the physical nature of the damage. Repairing buildings and infrastructure requires more time than fixing software issues.
This incident highlights how critical digital infrastructure can be impacted during geopolitical conflicts. Cloud systems may seem virtual, but they depend on real-world facilities. When those facilities are damaged, digital services are disrupted. The situation continues to develop as recovery operations move forward.
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