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An Israeli documentary investigating the military's deployment of artificial intelligence systems to conduct air strikes in the Gaza Strip has made a dramatic debut at the Venice Film Festival, drawing an emotional 25-minute standing ovation from attendees following its world premiere.
The 80-minute non-fiction feature, titled NAZA, is helmed by Israeli investigative journalists and directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. The filmmaking duo previously earned an Academy Award in 2025 for No Other Land, an acclaimed documentary examining Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank that they co-directed alongside Palestinian filmmakers Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal.
Developed over nearly three years of investigative reporting, the new film relies on insider testimony provided by active and former Israeli intelligence and military personnel. To shield them from potential identification, the whistleblowers were recorded after dark on rooftops across Tel Aviv, with their facial features and spoken voices heavily altered through digital technology.
Abraham explained to news agency AFP that the primary objective of the production was to provide a platform for Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers to recount their direct experiences. He noted that the team sought to uncover, in meticulous detail, the precise operational mechanisms and reality behind the computerized killing infrastructure deployed across Gaza.
The documentary derives its title from a specific term used inside the Israeli intelligence apparatus. According to the filmmakers, "Naza" functions as a Hebrew military euphemism designating the calculated threshold of civilian casualties considered acceptable or expected during the execution of a given air strike.
Central to the film's revelations is an artificial intelligence-driven targeting mechanism designated as "Lavender." Sources in the documentary reveal how this computational platform continuously monitored and mined the civilian telecommunications infrastructure across Gaza—scrutinizing phone records, physical tracking data, and everyday interactions to generate potential assassination lists.
Whistleblowers featured in the film describe the mechanized scale of the targeting operations, with one insider comparing the throughput of the system to an industrial manufacturing plant. Another individual involved in identifying target parameters remarked that the remote process felt like playing a video game, describing the disassociated execution of operations as insanely fun.
The testimonies further expose deep-seated disregard for international humanitarian protocols, widespread destruction of residential properties, and a prevailing environment fueled by hatred toward the Palestinian population. Multiple intelligence operatives admitted they were fully aware that the residential structures flagged by the algorithms were actively occupied by families at the moment strikes were authorized.
In a joint article published in +972 Magazine, directors Abraham and Szor stated that their findings fundamentally dismantle official narratives regarding collateral damage. The filmmakers concluded that the extensive loss of Palestinian civilian life in Gaza represents a calculated, premeditated, and deliberate operational strategy rather than an incidental byproduct of hostilities.
Addressing the broader geopolitical dimension, Abraham voiced hope that the documentary would spur international accountability, urging Western powers to reconsider their military and diplomatic alignment with Israel by enforcing economic and diplomatic sanctions. He emphasized that unwavering foreign support undermines the efforts of Israeli and Palestinian advocates striving internally for human rights and political solutions.
NAZA was produced by British filmmaker Jim Wilson in collaboration with The Guardian, featuring Jonathan Glazer as executive producer. The same creative team achieved critical acclaim for their Oscar-winning 2024 historical drama The Zone of Interest, which focused on the administrative mechanics of state-sponsored atrocities.
The documentary has already generated strong reactions across the cinematic landscape, with trade publication Screen International characterizing it as an urgent and devastating gut-punch. Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter highlighted the film's ability to evoke profound indignation, outrage, and deep-seated disgust toward the policies enacted by the current Israeli authorities.
Competing within the festival's primary "Venezia 83" section, NAZA represents the only documentary selected for this year's official competition lineup. Its enthusiastic reception mirrors the acclaim seen during the previous festival edition, where the Palestinian-focused documentary The Voice of Hind Rajab received a 23-minute standing ovation before securing the event's prestigious second prize.
The documentary's festival unveiling arrives against the backdrop of an ongoing military campaign that has devastated the Gaza Strip. According to records from the local Ministry of Health, roughly 73,500 Palestinians have been killed and upwards of 174,500 injured since October 2023, amid stringent military restrictions that continue to prevent independent foreign correspondents from reporting freely within the enclave.
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