A new documentary film featuring testimony from 24 Israeli military insiders has shed light on secret systems used by Israel in its military operations in Gaza, revealing methods that have resulted in significant civilian casualties. The film, titled *NAZA*, directed by Oscar winners Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, premiered at the Venice International Film Festival as the only documentary competing for the Golden Lion award.
*NAZA*, an acronym from an Israeli military term used to euphemistically denote civilians expected to be killed in attacks, presents extensive interviews with intelligence officers and soldiers involved in surveillance and the remote targeting of Palestinian civilians. To protect their identities, participants were filmed at night on rooftops in Tel Aviv, with their appearances and voices digitally altered due to the risks of publicly discussing Israel’s military activities.
The interviews disclose the use of artificial intelligence-based systems designed to identify large numbers of low-ranking Hamas members, who were then targeted in nighttime strikes on their homes despite knowing that family members would also be killed. The Israeli military reportedly hacked into mobile phones to determine the locations of such targets and covertly listened to conversations between the targets and their relatives moments before strikes. The film also details the destruction of neighborhoods where up to a quarter of residents remained sheltered, systematic burning of civilian homes, and the killing of civilians at a food distribution site.
Some interviewees expressed varied emotions ranging from pride to indifference and remorse. A number served in a secret intelligence unit reporting directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, with one stating their mission was to “thwart peace.” Directors Abraham and Szor emphasized that the film focuses on official policies and accepted practices rather than isolated incidents, aiming to examine the “systems behind the mass killing of Palestinian civilians for which our country is responsible.”
The production team includes James Wilson as co-producer and Jonathan Glazer as executive producer, who previously worked on the Oscar-winning *The Zone of Interest*. *NAZA* builds on earlier investigative reporting by Israeli-Palestinian and Hebrew-language outlets between 2023 and 2025. Its creation involved tight security measures to protect sources and maintain secrecy until its Venice debut.
The film’s release occurs amid a broader context of conflict and humanitarian crisis. Since 2023, Israeli military operations in Gaza have reportedly killed more than 73,000 Palestinians—mostly civilians—and injured over 174,000, amounting to over 10% of Gaza’s prewar population. Restrictions on food shipments have contributed to what the film describes as a man-made famine. Additionally, Israeli strikes have damaged or destroyed more than three-quarters of homes in Gaza, forcing survivors into overcrowded camps with limited access to basic necessities.
Israel's military campaign followed the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks inside Israel, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 people and the abduction of 251 individuals into Gaza, many of whom were civilians.
Abraham and Szor previously co-directed the 2025 Oscar-winning documentary *No Other Land*, which focused on the demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank and broader issues of occupation. They describe *NAZA* as a continuation of that work — connecting testimonies to expose what a UN commission and leading human rights organizations have described as evidence of genocide.
The Venice Film Festival’s artistic director Alberto Barbera described *NAZA* as “politically disruptive” and “cinematically extremely interesting,” noting that it took three years to secure the interviews and that the testimonies are “shocking.” The film aims to offer a rare, detailed glimpse into the military systems and policies underlying the ongoing conflict in Gaza.