An Israeli documentary on the war in Gaza sets off a firestorm at home after Venice award

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli documentary about the civilian death toll in the war in Gaza has sparked fierce backlash at home after being awarded the special jury prize last week at the Venice Film Festival, drawing anger from top officials and even calls to strip the filmmakers of Israeli citizenship.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused those behind the film “NAZA” of incitement and antisemitism, while the head of the Israeli military has vowed to track down the soldiers who cooperated with the project.

Shot on the rooftops of Tel Aviv at night in extreme secrecy over three years, “NAZA” features testimony from 24 Israeli military insiders, including intelligence officers and soldiers, who give insight into the war in Gaza and what they say is the systemic killing of Palestinian civilians.

They allege that Israel uses artificial intelligence to identify and bomb potential targets of the militant Hamas group in Gaza — often knowing that many civilians will likely be killed in an attack. The Israeli military has acknowledged using AI to help identify targets but says that a human being makes the final decision before a strike is carried out.

The documentary set off a firestorm in Israel

The reception in Venice set off a firestorm among Israel’s leading politicians and military officials, many of whom have described “NAZA” as anti-Israel and lacking context. They all acknowledged they have not seen the film.

Netanyahu, his Cabinet members and also the prime minister’s opponents in next month’s key elections have all lambasted the film, describing it as antisemitic and a part of a broader campaign to defame Israel.

“We are fighting global antisemitic incitement,” Netanyahu said on Monday. “When it comes from within us, it’s simply unbearable.”

Israel’s Culture Minister Miki Zohar called on Monday for the documentary’s Israeli co-directors, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, to be stripped of their citizenship. Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli military’s chief of general staff, asked military prosecutors to investigate potential leaks in the film.

“This is a dangerous attempt to deny us the legitimacy to defend ourselves against the worst of our enemies,” Zamir said.

Co-produced by The Guardian and Jonathan Glazer, who was behind the 2023 Oscar-winning “The Zone of Interest,” the film is the second documentary from Abraham and Szor. It follows their 2025 Oscar-winning “No Other Land,” which chronicled Palestinians in part of the occupied West Bank as they face home demolitions by Israeli troops and attacks by Israeli settlers.

“NAZA” — an acronym used by Israel’s military that means collateral damage — “reveals in detail the systems behind Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” according to a synopsis from The Guardian.

The film is not yet available to audiences, though the filmmakers have said they intend to seek distribution in Israel, Europe and the United States.

“The testimonies it contains are true and we believe they deserve to be heard. The interviews were given by confidential journalistic sources,” The Guardian said in a statement.

Criticism of the film highlights the divide over the war

In an interview with journalist Raviv Drucker on Israel’s Channel 13, Abraham said the attacks on him and Szor showed why many of the film’s participants wanted to remain anonymous. Abraham defended the film’s process for verifying the accounts and events described.

Abraham also questioned why Israeli journalists had done little to investigate civilian deaths and the military’s rules of engagement during the war.

“Many soldiers told me they had been waiting for a chance to talk about this,” he said.

Many of the film’s central claims had been previously reported, but Israel’s response echoes how officials have reacted in the past to prominent criticism of the country’s conduct — attacking critics, questioning their motives and challenging the credibility of the allegations.

The response also reflects the chasm between how the war in Gaza is seen in Israel and how it’s seen internationally. Israelis have largely seen the war as an act of self-defense after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage — the deadliest day in Israel’s history.

But internationally, it has drawn widespread condemnation and accusations of war crimes. Nearly three years of war have destroyed most of Gaza and killed at least 73,789 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for Netanyahu’s office, said Israel denied the film’s allegations and questioned Abraham and Szor’s motivations.

“What they wanted was awards from overseas from Israel haters. And they wanted standing applause,” he said, referencing the 25-minute applause that viewers in Venice gave the film.