Ankara: A new documentary by Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, revealing testimony from 24 Israeli military and intelligence insiders about secret systems used to identify, track, and attack targets in Gaza despite expected civilian deaths.
According to Anadolu Agency, the film, titled NAZA, was screened in the main competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival and is the only documentary competing for the Golden Lion this year. The film takes its title from a Hebrew military acronym for "collateral damage," used by Israeli intelligence to refer to the number of civilians expected to be killed in an attack.
The 80-minute documentary was produced by The Guardian and James Wilson of JW Films, with Jonathan Glazer serving as an executive producer. NAZA builds on investigations published between 2023 and 2025 by the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine, Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, and The Guardian.
Israeli intelligence officers and soldiers interviewed for the film describe AI-based systems used to identify large numbers of suspected low-ranking Hamas members as potential targets. According to their testimony, people identified through the systems were bombed in their homes at night despite knowledge that the strikes would also kill members of their families. The insiders also describe hacking into the phones of people marked for attack to determine their locations.
Speaking at a news conference in Venice, Abraham said the filmmakers asked the officers to explain their work. "We just told these officers: 'Please describe to us what you did. How do these systems work? Sketch it out for us.' Sometimes, in just asking the questions, you get the answers," he said. Some of the interviewees expressed remorse, while others spoke out of indifference or pride.
The testimony also includes first-hand accounts of the destruction of neighborhoods where the Israeli military estimated that as many as 25% of residents were still in their homes. Several interviewees worked in a secret intelligence unit that reports directly to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Abraham and Szor said the film focuses on military policies and practices rather than misconduct by individual soldiers.
In an interview with French daily Le Monde, Abraham said it took months of discussions to persuade some sources to testify, while others refused because they feared reprisals from the Israeli government. "The film does not talk about individual soldiers who deviate from the protocol. It is not about mistakes, nor sporadic war crimes. It is about the policies themselves, the protocol, everything that was systemic in the assault against Gaza," he said.
Abraham described the film as an examination of "systems of mass killing" based on testimony from the 24 insiders. Szor said the filmmakers also wanted to show the contrast between daily life in Tel Aviv and events in Gaza. She said traditional Israeli media had failed to fully reveal what was happening in Gaza, emphasizing that the systems used to bomb Gaza existed even before the events after Oct. 7.