‘Israeli’ directors premier “NAZA” film exposing civilian killings in Gaza

‘Israeli’ filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor have premiered their documentary NAZA at the Venice Film Festival, presenting testimony from 24 ‘Israeli’ military and intelligence figures on what they describe as the systems behind the calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

The film, the only documentary competing for the Golden Lion at the 83rd edition of the festival, received its world premiere on September 10.

Shot at night on rooftops in Tel Aviv, it features interviews conducted under strict anonymity, with the subjects’ appearances and voices digitally altered.

Abraham and Szor, two of the four co-directors of the Oscar-winning 2025 documentary No Other Land, produced the film with The Guardian and James Wilson of JW Films, with Jonathan Glazer as executive producer.

The title NAZA derives from an ‘Israeli’ military acronym used to denote expected “collateral” civilian casualties in planned airstrikes.

Interviewees describe AI-assisted targeting systems, mass phone surveillance, and a practice of striking family homes once a designated target returns, knowing family members—including children—would also be killed.

One officer speaks of “mass killing on an industrial scale.”

Another notes that phrases overheard on a child’s phone, such as “daddy’s home,” could trigger an airstrike.

“Our film is showing that the basic targeting unit of the Israeli targeting systems is a family home in Gaza,” Abraham said.

“That’s how it operates. Every building in Gaza, every home in Gaza has a number. The system is designed to locate targets. When they are in civilian spaces, when they go back home, that is one of, for me, one of the most striking revelations of the film.”

Szor added that the film examines “a system of killings, of mass killings, that is based on mass surveillance.”

The directors framed the project as an examination of systemic practices rather than isolated incidents.

“We made this film out of a sense of obligation to use our position as Israeli film-makers and journalists to examine the systems behind the mass killing of Palestinian civilians for which our country is responsible,” they stated.

Abraham noted that some interviewees showed remorse, while others spoke with indifference or pride: “Some of them did not express remorse and some did. Some spoke out of indifference, some out of pride.”

The documentary builds on earlier investigative reporting by Abraham for +972 Magazine, Local Call, and The Guardian.

It includes accounts of neighborhood destruction where significant numbers of residents remained, the killing of civilians near aid sites, and the deliberate targeting of homes.

Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera described the testimonies as “shocking,” noting the three years required to secure the interviews.

Abraham and Szor emphasized the ongoing nature of the events depicted.

“While we sit here in Venice, the killing in Gaza continues,” Abraham said, referencing recent strikes.

They expressed hope that the film would make denial of the systems more difficult, both internationally and within ‘Israeli’ society.

Gaza health authorities report more than 73,000 Palestinians killed since October 7, 2023.