Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor have directed the documentary NAZA, which examines Israel's military surveillance and targeting systems used during the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The film features testimonies from 24 Israeli soldiers and intelligence personnel, whose identities were concealed through digitally altered voices and images. The documentary was shot over more than three years and has won the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.
The film's release has sparked growing criticism and threats against its directors in Israel. Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has called for the revocation of their citizenship, accusing them of treason. Protests were also held outside the home of Szor's parents. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has backed proposed legislation that could allow citizenship to be revoked in cases involving alleged defamation of Israeli soldiers and the state.
The filmmakers have defended the documentary and its findings, including at its North American premiere in New York on 26 September. NAZA is based in part on investigations previously published by The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call between 2023 and 2025. The film began its theatrical release in 56 territories on 28 September and is scheduled to become available to watch for free worldwide on The Guardian's website in late November.
The documentary provides a unique perspective on the Israeli military's surveillance and targeting systems, revealing how data is collected and analyzed to locate people and buildings, and how this information ultimately feeds into decisions to launch strikes. The film's central construction is the contrast between everyday life in Tel Aviv and the military decisions made in the same city that determine who will live and who will die in Gaza.
NAZA has been praised for its unsettling portrait of a system where decisions about life and death can be made at a distance. The film's use of testimonies from Israeli soldiers and intelligence personnel provides a glimpse into the mechanisms that make mass killing possible, acceptable, and justified from within the Israeli system. The documentary has been described as a disturbing confrontation between two realities: what we hear about Gaza and what we see in Tel Aviv.
The film's significance lies not only in documenting what previous investigations had already revealed but also in its ability to transform information about surveillance, algorithms, and military targeting into a powerful and thought-provoking narrative. NAZA has been produced by The Guardian and features an executive producer, James Wilson, who also worked on Jonathan Glazer's Oscar-winning film, The Zone of Interest.
The documentary has sparked important questions about the use of civilian deaths as part of the calculation preceding a strike. According to testimonies in the film, NAZA is a term used within the Israeli military system to refer to the number of civilians expected to be killed in an airstrike. The film's findings have significant implications for our understanding of the Israeli military's actions in Gaza and the human cost of the conflict.
Key points
- Israeli documentary NAZA exposes the military's surveillance and targeting systems used in Gaza.
- The film's release has sparked criticism and threats against its directors in Israel.
- NAZA reveals the use of civilian deaths as part of the calculation preceding a strike.
