Twenty-four Israeli military insiders, including intelligence officers and soldiers, provide insight into the war in Gaza and what they describe as the systemic killing of Palestinian civilians in “NAZA,” a documentary premiering at the Venice Film Festival, reports BritPanorama.
The film, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the creators of the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” was shot clandestinely over three years in Tel Aviv. The identities of the subjects have been digitally altered to protect their anonymity.
The title “NAZA” refers to an Israeli military acronym denoting civilian casualties, encompassing men, women, and children.
Testimony from Israeli military insiders
The film’s subjects discuss the surveillance systems and remote bombing tactics employed by the Israeli military, stating that artificial intelligence is utilized to identify potential Hamas targets even when families are present in their homes.
“We just told these officers and soldiers, please describe to us what you did,” Abraham said during a news conference. “Of course there were other questions that arose, but the principal question was a question of detail — sketch it for us, we want to know how it worked. And sometimes just asking the question, you get answers.”
“NAZA” builds upon reporting from 2023 to 2025 by outlets including +972 Magazine, Local Call, and The Guardian. Szor explained the significance of creating a film based on previously reported information.
“We felt that there is still some sort of importance to take those testimonies and put it in a film,” Szor stated. “It’s different to hear, actually, the people who designed and operated those systems talk about it in front of a camera, and sketch it, show it.”
Produced by The Guardian, “NAZA” is the only documentary competing for the Golden Lion award at the festival, and among two directed by women. It was added to the festival lineup at the request of its producers to ensure the anonymization of subjects was completed.
Keeping the focus on the victims, not the subjects
The film refrains from delving into the motivations of its subjects. Abraham noted that while some expressed remorse, others did not; some used Hebrew, while others spoke from a place of pride or indifference. The filmmakers were inspired by Jonathan Glazer’s notion that in his film “The Zone of Interest,” the victims remain out of the frame, but never out of mind.
“We felt that by focusing too much on these feelings of remorse or guilt that exist, we would be taking away from the core of the film,” Abraham said. “And the core of the film is a system of killing that has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza — estimates say the real number is much higher — the way it worked and the way the world allowed it to happen. This is the heart of what we want to do.”
Wilson addressed accusations of antisemitism often leveled at projects critiquing Israeli government actions.
“I myself actually don’t think there are any connections with Judaism or Jewishness and the policies of the Israeli government,” Wilson remarked.
Bearing witness, from ‘No Other Land’ to ‘NAZA’
Abraham and Szor co-directed the 2025 best documentary winner “No Other Land,” chronicling Palestinian activists’ efforts to protect their communities from demolitions by the Israeli military. This collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers concluded shortly before Hamas’s deadly attack on October 7, 2023, marking the initial escalation of the conflict in Gaza.
On that date, Hamas militants attacked Israel, resulting in around 1,200 fatalities and the abduction of 251 people. Following the attack, over 73,422 Palestinians have been reported killed in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and militants but indicates that women and children make up nearly half of all fatalities.
“The killing of civilians in Gaza is ongoing,” Abraham highlighted. “Just this week while we were at the festival, there was a seven-year-old girl killed with her father in their car — what we are showing is something that is very much ongoing.”
“I think our film is showing that this is not some mistake. It’s not an accident. It’s something very, very systemic,” he emphasized. “And this should have been apparent to everyone, I think, from the start. But we are showing it from the inside, with insider testimony.”
The ongoing conflict is top of mind at the Venice Film Festival
Areas controlled by Israel in Gaza have faced substantial destruction and depopulation. The majority of the territory’s 2 million Palestinians reside in regions still under Hamas control.
Israel continues its military operations in Gaza, asserting that it targets Hamas and its infrastructure. The Israeli government blames Hamas for the high civilian casualties, claiming the militant group operates within residential areas and employs civilians as human shields.
The military has acknowledged using artificial intelligence to assist in target identification, yet insists that no strikes occur without human oversight. “When it comes to ‘pressing the red button,’ only a person can do it,” an Israeli military official stated, speaking anonymously until an official army communication is issued.
Last year’s festival also focused heavily on the conflict, with large pro-Palestinian protests advocating for increased awareness of real-world issues over glitz and glamour. The theme was reinforced by films such as Kaouther Ben Hania’s critically acclaimed “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” which addresses the tragic fate of a six-year-old girl trying to escape Gaza City, a work that earned the Silver Lion award at the festival.
Ben Hania is part of the jury led by Maggie Gyllenhaal, tasked with selecting the festival’s award winners, with announcements set for September 12.
