The Israeli Defense Forces has slammed the documentary “NAZA,” calling it “manipulative,” “misleading” and “based on substantial factual errors.”
The film premiered at Venice Film Festival last month, where it received a 24.5-minute standing ovation. It has since screened at the San Sebastián and New York film festivals, and will open in U.S. theaters next week before streaming for free on The Guardian website in late November. The British newspaper are co-producers of the movie, which is directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.
In its statement, the IDF said that it did not have a chance to view the documentary prior to its premiere and claimed the directors did not put forward the allegations in the film to the IDF before publishing. The IDF has now responded to the numerous claims in the film, which takes its title from the phrase “collateral damage” in Hebrew (“Nezek Agavi”).
Among other points, the IDF said that it operates under binding directives that “explicitly” distinguish between military operatives and uninvolved citizens; it has never planned or carried out a strike in Gaza in which 500 civilians were killed, as one anonymous contributor claims in the film; and it has never used AI to select targets to strike, saying these are only ever planned by “relevant professionals.”
All 24 contributors in “NAZA” are anonymous, filmed against a nighttime skyline in Tel Aviv. In its statement, the IDF said “it is apparent that in various cases interviewees raise speculation and assumptions without a factual basis.”
They added that the filmmakers also left out crucial context such as showing the full chain of command, which they said includes roles dedicated to “mitigating civilian harm,” and played down the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, in which over 1,000 people were killed and over 250 hostages were taken.
“The film ‘NAZA’ presents a distorted, misleading and disingenuous picture of the IDF’s target planning and striking process,” the statement reads. “The film’s narrative is based on substantial factual errors stemming from manipulative misrepresentations of reality.”
Contacted by Variety for comment, a spokesperson for Guardian News & Media said on behalf of the filmmakers: “The IDF’s attempt to portray the 24 participants in ‘NAZA’ as junior-ranking officers involved only in the early stages of the targeting process is false. They include officers and soldiers who were involved in multiple stages of the targeting process in Gaza, including intelligence, operations and the final authorization process.”
The Guardian added that “the process of assessing the credibility of the testimonies was rigorous. It included leaked classified documents, detailed verification of specific strikes and corroboration via a wider pool of confidential journalistic sources who did not appear on camera in the film. Over the past three years we have together interviewed more than 100 sources familiar with IDF systems used in the war in Gaza, including senior-ranking commanders directly involved in the authorization of strikes.”
The statement concluded: “The Guardian stands fully behind the film, which builds on three years of detailed reporting by the Guardian and our partners. Several highly respected news organizations have subsequently confirmed the IDF’s use of AI-driven systems in the Gaza offensive and the loosening of safeguards to protect civilians, including the New York Times, Washington Post and Associated Press.”
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