Following a 25-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival where it won the special jury prize, the documentary NAZA has sparked an intense political and military firestorm in Israel over its examination of civilian casualties and military target selection in the Gaza war.
An Israeli documentary investigating civilian casualties and military target selection in the war in Gaza has emerged from the Venice International Film Festival into a fierce domestic backlash, drawing condemnation from top officials and calls to strip its creators of their citizenship.
Venice Film Festival Premiere and Jury Recognition for NAZA
Directed by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, NAZA secured its world premiere on September 10 at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, competing as the only documentary among the 21 films vying for the Golden Lion. The 80-minute film ultimately received the festival’s special jury prize during the closing ceremony on Saturday, September 12, following a 25-minute standing ovation at its screening.
Photo: bostonherald.com
The documentary draws upon investigations published between 2023 and 2025 by +972 Magazine, Local Call, and The Guardian. Its title is derived from a Hebrew military acronym for collateral damage, which, in the context of the film, refers to estimates of civilian casualties anticipated in airstrikes. Shot at night on rooftops in Tel Aviv, the production examines Israeli military systems used in the Gaza war and focuses on Palestinian civilian casualties.
The project was produced by The Guardian and James Wilson of JW Films, in collaboration with Placeholder Films and Unseen Hand. Jonathan Glazer served as executive producer, while Wilson and Glazer previously worked together on the Oscar-winning film The Zone of Interest. Abraham and Szor previously collaborated with Palestinian filmmakers Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal on No Other Land, a documentary about the Masafer Yatta region that won an award at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival and subsequently won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2025.
Soldier Testimonies and the Central Allegations of the Film
The documentary features testimony from 24 confidential journalistic sources, including Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers who operated remotely. According to the filmmakers, these individuals described surveillance, target selection, and decisions about strikes in which civilian deaths were expected.
Photo: jta.org
We made this film for one simple reason. We understood that testimonies from officers and soldiers in the army that annihilated Gaza — those who conducted the surveillance, who calculated how many innocent people were likely to be killed in each house, and who repeatedly gave the green light to bomb entire families — would make it even harder to deny the crimes.
The documentary alleges that the military utilized artificial intelligence databases, such as a system known as Lavender, to generate potential targets for attacks.
In response to the allegations, the Israel Defense Forces rejected the central claims, stating that the military does not have a policy to deliberately kill civilians. The IDF explained that Hamas embeds its operatives and assets among civilians, while military operations adhere to the rules of war, including proportionality and precautions to avoid civilian deaths. Every target undergoes an assessment of expected military advantage versus likely collateral damage, and intelligence systems serve as tools for analysts requiring independent human review before any action is taken. The military argued that the film isolates conventional military considerations out of context.
Domestic Political Backlash and Official Investigations in Israel
The reception in Venice triggered immediate condemnation from Israeli leadership. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the filmmakers of incitement and antisemitism, stating that we are fighting global antisemitic incitement and adding that when it comes from within us, it’s simply unbearable.
“NETANYAHU RATTLED?” Venice-Winning “NAZA” Documentary Sparks Fury Over Gaza Civilian Death Claims
