Israeli documentary ‘NAZA’ opens in the US, reigniting debate over the
war in Gaza
[October 06, 2026]
By LINDSEY BAHR
VENICE, Italy (AP) — The opening in U.S. theaters of the “NAZA”
documentary, in which Israeli military insiders describe what they say
was the reckless killing of civilians in Gaza, is likely to rekindle the
searing debate over America’s military support for Israel ahead of
congressional elections.
Israel’s wartime conduct has sparked global outrage, as have the
billions of dollars in American military support provided by the Biden
and Trump administrations. The war has bitterly divided Democrats and
some Republicans.
The film received a record 25-minute standing ovation when it debuted at
the Venice Film Festival. The backlash in Israel, which holds its own
elections at the end of this month, has been just as thunderous.
“NAZA,” named for the Hebrew acronym for collateral damage, contends
that Israel used sophisticated systems -- some operated by artificial
intelligence -- to hunt and kill suspected militants, carrying out
strikes the military knew would kill large numbers of civilians.
The Israeli military has “categorically” denied the filmmakers’ findings
and threatened to track down the soldiers who spoke to them. Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the film was antisemitic, and a
Cabinet minister threatened to strip the filmmakers of their
citizenship. Yuval Abraham, one of the co-directors, fears he won’t be
able to return home.
At the New York Film Festival premiere last month, a few dozen
protesters gathered outside showing images of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023,
attack that triggered the war. Abraham acknowledged the “massacre” and
said it was “completely unjustified.”
“But it also cannot justify what you’ve seen in the film … (the)
slaughter of so many civilians in Gaza, the massacres at food sites,” he
said.
Soldiers describe alleged atrocities
Abraham and co-director Rachel Szor knew the documentary would spark
controversy. Their previous film, “No Other Land,” made with two
Palestinian filmmakers about the struggles faced by Palestinians in the
occupied West Bank, got a similar split-screen reception – winning an
Oscar but infuriating many in Israel.
For all the bombastic claims surrounding it, “NAZA” is stark in its
minimalism. There are no talking heads, no file footage of airstrikes –
just interviews at night on Tel Aviv rooftops with individuals whose
faces and voices are obscured. Some use pen and paper to draw what they
are describing.
One recalls targeting people on their way to a food distribution site,
while another likens the remote killings to playing a video game. The
filmmakers say the subjects spoke anonymously for fear of retaliation
and that their claims were carefully vetted.
“We wanted it to be a simple film,” said Szor. “There is something very
scary about someone drawing systems that are causing mass killing.”
The subjects talk about developing and using an AI tool to process
surveillance in Gaza and suggest targets with Hamas connections,
creating a database of tens of thousands. Another AI tool recommends
buildings and structures to target, they say.
The interviewees say the systems make mistakes. One subject said
approval was given for an operation targeting one Hamas militant that
anticipated 500 civilian deaths. The military has denied that claim, but
Israeli strikes on senior militants often killed large numbers of
civilians.
Most of the key reporting in “NAZA” has been published before, by the
Israeli-Palestinian +972 Magazine, the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call
and The Guardian, which produced the film.
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 The military has issued a lengthy
rebuttal
The Israeli military has condemned the film. It says orders
“explicitly, comprehensively and clearly distinguish” between
militants and civilians and that it strives to minimize civilian
harm “to the greatest extent feasible.”
It acknowledged using AI but said the selection of targets is done
by intelligence officers and the decision to strike is made by
operational commanders. It said many of the interviewees did not
seem to be aware of the larger targeting process.
The reporting overall is based on interviews with over 100
confidential sources, done in collaboration with The Guardian’s
investigation desk between 2023 and 2025.
“After you watch the film, it becomes much harder to doubt that
these are real people,” Abraham said at the New York premiere. “It’s
all truthful, it’s all vetted and we feel very, very confident about
it.”
Experts and major rights groups have accused Israel of genocide over
the killing of civilians, the destruction of most of Gaza and aid
restrictions that fueled widespread hunger. Israel adamantly denies
the allegations, saying it tried to spare civilians as it responded
to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and fought to uproot the militants from
dense residential areas.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and
abducted 251 other people in the Oct. 7 attack, all of whom have
since been recovered, alive or dead.
Israel’s offensive killed over 74,000 Palestinians, including more
than 1,400 since a fragile ceasefire took hold a year ago, according
to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Part of the Hamas-run government, the ministry maintains detailed
records seen as generally reliable by independent experts and U.N.
agencies. Its figures do not distinguish between militants and
civilians, but it says women and children make up around half the
dead.
The film’s rollout will be limited
“NAZA” is arriving in theaters without a traditional distributor in
the U.S. It’s now playing at New York’s IFC Center, and abroad with
the help of independent film studio mk2.
On Oct. 9 it opens in more cities, including Austin, Chicago, Los
Angeles and Seattle. In late November, it will be available to
stream free on The Guardian’s website.
“No Other Land” was also self-distributed in the U.S. and became a
modest success following its Oscar win, with over $2.5 million in
domestic ticket sales.
The Committee to Protect Journalists and the International
Documentary Association have released statements condemning threats
against the filmmakers. Over 2,000 people, including prominent
Israeli filmmakers, have also signed a petition supporting Szor and
Abraham.
The filmmakers say the goal from the beginning was to disseminate
information, which is why they didn’t sit on the reporting ahead of
the film’s release. They hope for a wider viewership in Israel,
where the focus is still on the Oct. 7 attack with little discussion
of the plight of ordinary Palestinians.
But they also want Americans to see the film and to understand the
role their own government played. An academic study published last
year found that the Biden and Trump administrations provided at
least $21.7 billion in military assistance to Israel in the first
two years of the war.
“Much of what is being described was done with American taxpayer
money,” Abraham said. “My country did it, but they would never have
been able to do it without (American) diplomatic (and) military
support.”
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