An Israeli documentary film about civilian deaths in Gaza has ignited a fierce political and cultural storm in Israel, with the country's prime minister proposing new legislation, far-right protesters gathering outside filmmakers' family homes, and the directors themselves urging international distributors to suspend screenings around a sensitive anniversary.
"Naza," directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, draws on testimonies from 24 anonymous Israeli soldiers and intelligence personnel gathered over three years. The film examines how civilian casualties were factored into military targeting decisions during the war in Gaza, including through the use of AI-assisted systems. The title itself carries a pointed meaning: "naza" is an Israeli military term for the estimated number of civilian casualties — so-called "collateral damage" — calculated before a strike is approved. The documentary won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival on 12 September, bringing it to wide international attention. The Israeli military has denied all allegations in the film.
The political fallout in Israel has been swift and sweeping. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced two proposed laws: one that would allow Israeli nationality to be stripped from individuals deemed to have defamed soldiers, and another multiplying potential civil damages twentyfold. Netanyahu described the documentary as "shocking incitement" and accused political rivals of failing to take a sufficiently firm stance against it — remarks made explicitly in the context of Israeli elections scheduled for 27 October. The culture minister separately asked the domestic security service Shin Bet to investigate the origins of the information used in the film. Far-right protesters, including a prominent activist with a criminal record, gathered outside the home of Rachel Szor's parents near Tel Aviv, chanting "Death to traitors." The filmmakers, who are currently outside Israel, have also been the target of widespread online threats. A mural in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod depicts the directors labelled as "traitors." The army's chief has called the film "an attack on the state of Israel" and is considering legal action both against the directors and the 24 military whistleblowers who participated.
In response, hundreds of artists and filmmakers have signed a petition in support of Abraham and Szor. Israeli filmmaker Shlomi Elkabetz, one of the signatories, said the broader climate in Israel is one in which "nobody wants to ask questions" — and that the attempt to silence those who do is "unbearable." The filmmakers themselves have asked international distributors not to screen the film on 6, 7, and 8 October, fearing that showings around the third anniversary of the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 — which killed nearly 1,200 people in Israel — could create unsafe situations. Dutch distributor Cherry Pickers, which is set to release the film in the Netherlands from 1 October, has endorsed the request, calling it unprecedented.
The controversy matters beyond Israel's borders for several reasons. The allegations in the film are not entirely new — Israeli outlet +972 Magazine reported in 2024 on high civilian death tolls and questions about AI-driven military targeting — but the documentary has brought these claims to a vastly larger audience. Critics of the government's response argue that the proposed citizenship-stripping laws represent a threat to freedom of expression and the ability to hold state institutions to account. Supporters of the crackdown say the film harms soldiers and emboldens Israel's enemies. What is clear is that the reaction to "Naza" has itself become a flashpoint, revealing deep divisions within Israeli society over accountability, the conduct of the war, and the limits of permissible dissent — all at a moment of acute political sensitivity ahead of national elections.