Why 'NAZA' Is More Than a Documentary, It's a Provocation

What does it take to truly see the unseen, to hear the unspoken, and to reckon with the uncomfortable truths of modern conflict? Apparently, it takes a film like NAZA, the Israeli documentary that has ignited a global firestorm of discussion and emotion. Far from a mere cinematic release, this film functions as a stark mirror, reflecting the difficult realities of war and the media narratives that shape our understanding of it, forcing audiences to grapple with complexities that are often deliberately obscured.

Directed by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, NAZA has captured international attention with its unflinching look at Israel's military operations in Gaza. The film, whose title is derived from the Hebrew military acronym for “collateral damage” (Nezek Agavi), features anonymous testimonies from 24 Israeli military and intelligence personnel. These individuals, depicted as dark silhouettes with distorted voices, describe the deployment of artificial intelligence systems like Lavender and Habsora to identify targets and assess civilian casualties during strikes, sometimes with anticipated civilian deaths reaching hundreds. Interviewees further reveal that, at the start of the war, "we bombed everything. NAZA wasn't an issue."

Presented at the Venice Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Prize, and later premiering at the New York Film Festival, NAZA quickly achieved commercial success in the United States. In less than two weeks, the film surpassed $500,000 in box office receipts, an impressive feat for a Hebrew-language documentary distributed independently across 85 theaters in about thirty American cities. This international acclaim, however, stands in stark contrast to the intense backlash it has generated within Israel.

The Chilling Mechanics of AI Warfare

At the heart of NAZA's unsettling narrative is the revelation of how artificial intelligence systems like Lavender and Habsora automate the targeting process. Interviewees describe Lavender as an AI program that identifies individuals as potential Hamas members by analyzing vast amounts of phone network data, claiming an accuracy rate of 85%. Habsora, Hebrew for "Gospel," is then used to identify targets such as rocket launch sites or headquarters, with one interviewee dubbing it a "factory of targets." These systems assign a "NAZA value" to each potential target, representing the expected number of civilian deaths from an airstrike. Astonishingly, targets with values below 20 reportedly required no special authorization, with approvals granted for values up to 500 in some cases, according to sources in the film as reported by The Guardian).

The documentary paints a grim picture of warfare conducted at a distance, where intelligence personnel could reportedly access cameras and microphones of any phone in Gaza. One chilling detail involves using a child's hacked phone to determine when their father would be home, enabling an airstrike to kill the entire family. Soldiers describe their roles as technical, seeing themselves as mere "cogs" in a machine, feeling detached from the human cost. This psychological distancing, facilitated by screens and algorithms, allows for a perceived objectivity that, in the film's view, obscures the moral implications of their actions.

The Fierce Backlash and Calls for Accountability

Unsurprisingly, NAZA has ignited a fierce political storm in Israel. The IDF has strongly rejected the film’s allegations, calling its portrayal of targeting procedures "distorted, misleading and disingenuous" and claiming it contains "substantial factual errors" as stated by the AJC. The military contends that the film misrepresents how targets are identified and how civilian risk is evaluated, specifically rejecting the allegation of approving strikes with 500 anticipated civilian deaths.

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has condemned the film as a "blood libel" and a "deliberate distortion of reality," ordering legal action to be examined and an investigation into potential leaks of classified material. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has similarly labeled the documentary "incitement," and threats to revoke the filmmakers' Israeli citizenship have even been made. This intense reaction highlights the profound discomfort that NAZA creates, challenging official narratives and forcing a public reckoning with the methods and consequences of modern conflict. Despite the military's strong denials, the film's existence and the testimony it presents are undeniable, urging a deeper look into the mechanisms of war and the ethics of those who wage it.