The Israeli military has officially repudiated the claims made in the acclaimed documentary “NAZA,” labeling the film’s depiction of its operations during the war in Gaza as “distorted, misleading and disingenuous.” The rebuttal comes amid intensifying backlash from top Israeli leaders against the film, which premiered to a standing ovation and won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival in September.
In a comprehensive multi-page statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accused directors Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham of relying on “substantial factual errors” and engaging in the “manipulative misrepresentation of reality.” The military maintains that it has never planned or executed attacks with prior knowledge that they would result in hundreds of civilian deaths, directly refuting one of the documentary’s central allegations.
The film, which derives its title from the Hebrew acronym for “collateral damage,” explores internal military procedures regarding target selection in the Gaza Strip. It features testimonies from 24 anonymous intelligence and military personnel who allege that high estimates of civilian casualties were deliberately incorporated into decision-making processes. The IDF disputes these accounts, asserting that human operators, not artificial intelligence, have always overseen targeting decisions.
Furthermore, the military criticized the filmmakers for omitting critical context, including the oversight role of legal advisors and commanders in authorizing strikes, as well as the measures taken to safeguard civilians. The IDF also argued that the documentary fails to adequately address the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, which resulted in over 1,200 deaths and 250 hostages in Israel.
The controversy has drawn sharp political criticism within Israel. Culture Minister Miki Zohar branded the filmmakers’ work as “treason against the state” and called for the revocation of their citizenship. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also strongly condemned the documentary. Despite the domestic opposition, human rights groups such as B’Tselem have voiced support for the directors, and the film is currently screening in theaters worldwide.
Szor and Abraham previously collaborated on “No Other Land,” which received the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2025. At the Venice awards ceremony, Yuval Abraham emphasized the importance of the film for Israeli audiences, stating, “We believe that the denial of a crime is what helps it persist. That is why it’s really, really especially important to us that Israelis watch this film.”
Wait, the IDF never uses AI in targeting? That’s a surprising claim considering how automated warfare has become globally.
The government calling it treason feels extreme. Why suppress art instead of engaging with the facts presented?