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A harrowing new documentary exposing the Israeli military’s deployment of artificial intelligence systems to conduct targeted strikes in the Gaza Strip has made a profound impact on the international cinema stage, earning a sustained 25-minute standing ovation during its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
The 80-minute non-fiction feature, titled NAZA, is helmed by Israeli investigative directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. The screening took place during the 83rd edition of the prestigious Italian festival, where the documentary is being showcased as part of the official "Venezia 83" main competition lineup.
The project marks a significant follow-up for Abraham and Szor, who previously attained international acclaim after winning an Academy Award in 2025 for their documentary No Other Land. That prior work, which exposed settler violence and pogroms across the occupied West Bank, was created in collaboration with Palestinian co-directors Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal.
NAZA represents the culmination of an intensive investigative undertaking spanning nearly three years. The documentary is supported by an accomplished international production team, including British producer Jim Wilson and The Guardian, alongside executive producer Jonathan Glazer, both of whom previously collaborated on the 2024 Oscar-winning feature The Zone of Interest.
At the core of the film are explosive on-the-record testimonies provided by Israeli military and intelligence insiders. Because of the extreme sensitivity of the disclosures, all participating whistleblowers were granted anonymity, appearing in shadowy nighttime interviews recorded atop rooftops across Tel Aviv with their facial features and voices digitally disguised.
Speaking to the AFP news agency regarding the film's artistic and investigative purpose, Abraham explained that the production team sought to directly confront the mechanics of warfare by giving insiders a platform. He noted that the objective was to allow soldiers and officers to candidly explain their actions and outline in precise detail how operational systems of violence were carried out in Gaza.
The title of the film itself, NAZA, is derived from a specialized Hebrew military intelligence euphemism. Within the ranks of the Israeli security apparatus, the term is routinely employed to designate the expected collateral tally of civilian casualties projected to be killed in any given airstrike.
Central to the film’s revelations is an in-depth examination of an AI-powered targeting platform known as "Lavender." Whistleblowers describe how this algorithmic mechanism systematically mined Gaza’s monitored telecommunications infrastructure—including intercepted phone calls, physical movements, and daily digital interactions—to autonomously compile vast rosters of individuals earmarked for assassination.
Insiders interviewed in the film offer chilling characterizations of the targeting operations, with one subject likening the vast throughput of human targets to an industrialized factory floor. Another source engaged in target identification described the remote, screen-based workflow as resembling a video game, disturbingly characterizing the lethal process as "insanely fun."
Beyond the operational algorithms, the documentary captures testimonies exposing widespread contempt for humanitarian protections and international law, framed against an institutional environment permeated by animosity toward Palestinians. Interviewees recounted how residential dwellings were systematically leveled despite clear knowledge of non-combatant presence inside.
Intelligence operatives featured in the production explicitly acknowledged that decision-makers could not plausibly claim ignorance regarding civilian harm. Whistleblowers stated they directly observed through surveillance feeds that the domestic properties they formally designated for destruction were actively inhabited by civilian families.
In an article published jointly in +972 Magazine alongside the film’s release, Abraham and Szor outlined the broader conclusions of their investigation. They argued that the catastrophic toll on Palestinian civilians in Gaza should not be characterized as an incidental or tragic byproduct of hostilities against Hamas, but rather as an intentional, calculated, and systematically premeditated course of action.
Addressing the geopolitical dimensions of their findings, Abraham urged Western administrations to fundamentally reassess their diplomatic and military support for Israel. He warned that continued international backing actively undermines domestic Israeli and Palestinian voices advocating for human rights and political solutions, calling on foreign states to apply tangible pressure via sanctions.
The premiere drew widespread critical acclaim from global trade publications. Screen International hailed the investigative documentary as an urgent and gut-wrenching piece of cinema, while The Hollywood Reporter observed that the film provoked intense outrage and profound disgust toward the conduct of the Israeli authorities.
The documentary's debut arrives amid ongoing devastation in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli military operations have killed approximately 73,500 Palestinians and wounded over 174,500 others since October 2023, according to figures released by the local Ministry of Health. Independent coverage of the devastation remains severely constrained, as foreign journalists continue to be barred from independent entry into Gaza without direct Israeli military supervision.
Standing as the sole non-fiction title selected for the festival's official competition, NAZA follows in the footsteps of the acclaimed Palestinian documentary The Voice of Hind Rajab, which garnered a 23-minute ovation and captured the second prize at Venice during the previous year's festival.
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