Protesters converge on Google I/O conference in Mountain View

Google's annual developers conference had an extra feature Tuesday morning: a protest.

Demonstrators blocked the entrance to the I/O conference in Mountain View to speak out against what they say are the company’s ties to Israeli military projects.

Holding a sign reading "STOP FUELING GENOCIDE," more than 100 people participated in the protest.

At one point, the protesters chained themselves together to block the public entrance to the conference. Affected attendees were ushered to another entrance.

"I understand what they’re trying to do, and I understand they have the freedom to speak and protest," attendee Oscar Garcia said. "Where I have a little problem is when it comes to impacting others, if you interrupt this event."

Former Google employee Ariel Koren said she was pushed out of the company in 2022 for speaking out against Project Nimbus, a cloud tool demonstrators say is being used by the Israeli government and military.

"As we speak, Google's cloud infrastructure, Google's tools, Google's technology are being used to fuel a genocide," Koren said.

Last month, Google fired 28 employees for protesting the company's work on Nimbus and its impact on Palestinians.

"It’s being used to help the Israeli military do things like facial recognition of people in Gaza, of innocent civilians, and landing many of them in detention, torture or death," former Google employee Roni Zeiger said.

By 11 a.m., the protesters left the entrance, with many vowing to return to let others know about the tech giant's connection to Israel's military effort.

NBC Bay Area reached out to Google for a comment but did not immediately hear back.