Israeli army attacks NAZA film, distances itself from Gaza crimes

The Israeli army on Thursday rejected the portrayal of its operations in the film NAZA, which documents Israeli massacres in the Gaza Strip, and sought to distance itself from the genocide against Palestinians.

The comments marked the army's first response to the film, directed by Israeli Oscar-winning filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.

It has faced repeated attacks from officials in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which has been described as the most right-wing in Israel's history.

In a statement Thursday, the army said the film presents a "distorted, misleading and far-from-reality picture" of how it plans and carries out strikes against targets.

It said the film's "narrative is based on fundamental factual errors" resulting from a "distorted and manipulative presentation."

"Artificial intelligence has never independently selected targets to strike. Target identification is carried out exclusively by qualified and authorized intelligence officers, while operational commanders make decisions on striking targets," the army said.

The army also claimed that "the people interviewed, having served in the army's intelligence corps, mostly refer to limited and preliminary stages of intelligence work, rather than the much broader process of planning and approving strikes."

The film, produced by The Guardian, received widespread acclaim at the Venice Film Festival, drawing a 25-minute standing ovation before being awarded the Special Jury Prize.

Abraham and Szor took the stage to accept the award, with Abraham speaking about a smear campaign against their film in Israel and efforts to prevent the facts presented in it from being seen.

The film's title, NAZA, is an abbreviation used by Israel's military intelligence directorate, Aman, to refer to the number of civilians expected to be killed in an airstrike.

The film was secretly shot on rooftops in Tel Aviv over three years, with the identities, voices and facial features of participants digitally altered to protect their safety.

Participants in the film detailed surveillance systems used in Israeli attacks and long-range bombardment operations.

According to the film, some of those interviewed worked in a secret intelligence unit that reported directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu has been wanted by the International Criminal Court since 2024 over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians during Israel's war in the Gaza Strip, which began in October 2023.