An-Nahar says 24 soldiers described AI targeting; the Jerusalem Post says "Nothing in the film is true"
Seven reports on the Venice-winning documentary "NAZA". Every one carries a denunciation; one says what the film contains. The army's spokesman, per Arutz Sheva, was answering a trailer.
The film. "NAZA", by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, took the Special Jury Prize at Venice on 12 September. An-Nahar is the only report we hold that says what is in it: interviews with 24 Israeli military personnel, all asking not to be named, on AI-supported targeting used to bomb Gaza and "the killing of tens of thousands of civilians".
The response. The other six lead with the denunciation.
| Who | What they demand | Their word for the film |
|---|---|---|
| Culture Minister Miki Zohar | The interior ministry to consider revoking the directors' citizenship | "an act of treason" |
| Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir | The military advocate general to examine legal action; a cross-agency team | "based on blood libels" |
| Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, army spokesman | The filmmakers to show the army the full film | "presented in promo" |
| Eliya Cohen, released hostage | A lawful public protest | "the blood of our friends is on their hands" |
| Yuval Abraham, director | Israelis to watch before judging | killing "by intent and design" |
What is not settled. Whether any of it is true. No report we hold says anyone outside the filmmakers has seen the whole film, and the spokesman's own words put him answering a trailer. The army says one interviewee's account of an approved strike that killed 500 civilians could not be verified; An-Nahar prints that beside Abraham's reply. No Palestinian outlet is among the seven, and none of them names anyone killed.
What this is about: an Israeli-Palestinian documentary says Israel's army used AI-supported targeting to kill civilians in Gaza, and the Israeli government is moving against the people who made it.
How it got here
- 7 October 2023. Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel, killing people and taking hostages. Israel answered with an air and ground war in Gaza. The fighting has gone on for almost three years.
- April 2024. Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist, reported for +972 Magazine and Local Call that intelligence officers described AI systems that generated bombing targets in Gaza. The army disputed that account. "NAZA" takes the same question to the screen.
- March 2025. Abraham and Rachel Szor were among the directors of "No Other Land", about the West Bank, which won the Oscar for best documentary. That made them known well beyond Israel.
- 12 September 2026. "NAZA" won the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice Film Festival. The Israeli backlash began two days later.
Who is involved, and why
- The filmmakers: Abraham is Israeli; Szor directed with him. They say their sources are serving or former military personnel.
- The army: its chief of staff can refer matters to the military advocate general, the army's chief legal officer. Ynet says the army is checking whether banned material was exposed. It names Unit 8200, Israel's signals intelligence unit.
- The government: the culture minister wants the directors stripped of their citizenship. An-Nahar notes that Israel's Supreme Court allowed revocation for spying or treason in 2022, and the law was widened to cover terrorism in 2023.
- Israel's military censor limits what domestic outlets may print on security matters. That limits what can be tested in public.
What is at stake
- Whether the testimony is examined, or the sources are pursued instead.
- Whether two citizens can lose their citizenship over a film.
- Israel's conduct in Gaza is already before the International Court of Justice, in a genocide case brought by South Africa in December 2023. It is also before the International Criminal Court, which issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former defence minister Gallant in November 2024. Israel rejects both. Evidence about targeting counts in both places.
Where it stands
The reports we hold carry calls for an inquiry, a legal review and revocation of citizenship. None says any of them has been decided. None says anyone outside the production has seen the full 80-minute film.
The story so far
Earlier stories The AI Times filed on this thread.
What is being argued about
- Whether the soldiers' testimony in the film is true, and whether anyone outside the filmmakers has seen the whole film
- Whether the directors should lose their Israeli citizenship, face prosecution, or both
- Whether the army was answering the film or only its trailer
- How many people were killed in the strike one interviewee describes, and whether that can be checked
Claims and verdicts
IDF Spokesman slams film: “False allegations, distorted, disconnected from reality"
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Arutz Sheva →
What we have measured
A caveat kept in the only report we hold that says the rejection was of a promo, not the finished film ×1A different word, and a hedge Calls the same event an airstrike rather than a controlled demolition, and marks it "Reported" while offering footage as its evidence. ×1An allegation stated as established the headline presents the plan as fact and as a disclosure, with no attribution to the charge sheet ×1Asserted flat Calls it a 'terror network' and says Iran helped build it, in its own voice, with no source. ×1
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The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
Ynet
Ynet
🇮🇱IL ·
digital · independent
אלה הצעדים של הרמטכ"ל נגד הסרט נז"א: "נרטיבים של שונאי ישראל"
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Ynet →
What we have measured
A claim in the headline that the other reports very close to deciding the regime appears in one report only ×1Active voice The killers are the subject of the verbs 'beat' and 'burned'. ×1Active voice The killers are named as acting ×1Army's term, attributed the army names the target of its strikes, and no one on the other side is quoted ×1
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A
Arutz Sheva
Zamir orders legal review of ‘NAZA': ‘Based on blood libels’
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Arutz Sheva →
What we have measured
A caveat kept in the only report we hold that says the rejection was of a promo, not the finished film ×1A different word, and a hedge Calls the same event an airstrike rather than a controlled demolition, and marks it "Reported" while offering footage as its evidence. ×1An allegation stated as established the headline presents the plan as fact and as a disclosure, with no attribution to the charge sheet ×1Asserted flat Calls it a 'terror network' and says Iran helped build it, in its own voice, with no source. ×1
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The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
Who wrote it
Ynet
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
Coverage, outlet by outlet
Zamir orders legal review of ‘NAZA': ‘Based on blood libels’
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Arutz Sheva →
What we have measured
A caveat kept in the only report we hold that says the rejection was of a promo, not the finished film ×1A different word, and a hedge Calls the same event an airstrike rather than a controlled demolition, and marks it "Reported" while offering footage as its evidence. ×1An allegation stated as established the headline presents the plan as fact and as a disclosure, with no attribution to the charge sheet ×1Asserted flat Calls it a 'terror network' and says Iran helped build it, in its own voice, with no source. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
—
Ynet
Ynet
🇮🇱IL ·
digital · independent
אלה הצעדים של הרמטכ"ל נגד הסרט נז"א: "נרטיבים של שונאי ישראל"
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Ynet →
What we have measured
A claim in the headline that the other reports very close to deciding the regime appears in one report only ×1Active voice The killers are the subject of the verbs 'beat' and 'burned'. ×1Active voice The killers are named as acting ×1Army's term, attributed the army names the target of its strikes, and no one on the other side is quoted ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
— independent
Captivity survivor rages at Naza producers: ‘The blood of our friends is on their hands’
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Arutz Sheva →
What we have measured
A caveat kept in the only report we hold that says the rejection was of a promo, not the finished film ×1A different word, and a hedge Calls the same event an airstrike rather than a controlled demolition, and marks it "Reported" while offering footage as its evidence. ×1An allegation stated as established the headline presents the plan as fact and as a disclosure, with no attribution to the charge sheet ×1Asserted flat Calls it a 'terror network' and says Iran helped build it, in its own voice, with no source. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
—
IDF Spokesman slams film: “False allegations, distorted, disconnected from reality"
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Arutz Sheva →
What we have measured
A caveat kept in the only report we hold that says the rejection was of a promo, not the finished film ×1A different word, and a hedge Calls the same event an airstrike rather than a controlled demolition, and marks it "Reported" while offering footage as its evidence. ×1An allegation stated as established the headline presents the plan as fact and as a disclosure, with no attribution to the charge sheet ×1Asserted flat Calls it a 'terror network' and says Iran helped build it, in its own voice, with no source. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
—
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
Haaretz
Haaretz
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
A previous framing corrected the twelve-country statement described as ambiguously worded ×1Asserted flat The report states as fact that barring Arab parties is a standing ritual. ×1Asserted flat The report says ethnicity explains the different outcomes, in its own voice. ×1Asserted in the report's own voice Parties are characterised by what they are said to promise, unattributed, and the headline calls the result frightening. ×1
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Palestine TV · Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation
Palestine TV · Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation
🇵🇸PS ·
TV/radio · state-controlled
What we have measured
Asserted versus attributed recognition itself stated as fact ×1Attribution 'historic' attributed to the Palestinian ambassador ×1Dead counted, not named two dead are counted as 'citizens' and none are named; the wounded are not counted ×1Dead named Gives the dead man's full name and age. ×1
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North Press Agency
North Press Agency
🇸🇾SY ·
wire · independent
What we have measured
Attribution the damage list is carried in full, attributed to the side claiming it ×1Single official source Uses the Saudi Press Agency's account: 'bilateral relations', with no mention of reconstruction or money. ×1What is at stake presents the stakes as trade and energy security; no ship, crew or price is counted ×1Which line is led with led by the legal instrument, naming the Security Council resolution by number ×1
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Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
A count with its base both days given, and the data called preliminary ×1Actor named as a state the attack is Yemen's, not the Houthis' ×1A different actor does the asking Pakistan's army chief, not Beijing, is the one asking Tehran to use its influence, on the word of unnamed Pakistani government sources. ×1'aggression' in the narration The US campaign is called aggression in the report's own narration, which it credits to Al-Ahram's account of the call. ×1
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Al-Monitor
Al-Monitor
🇺🇸US/ME ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
Actor from anonymous officials Puts the IRGC at the trigger in a sentence sourc ×1Actor named Names the Director-General as the one who requested the dismissal ×1Actor named names Trump as the one who began the war, with Israel ×1Actor named names Israel as the actor in its military actions against the Palestinians ×1
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Tehran Times
Tehran Times
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · state-controlled
What we have measured
Asserted vs attributed headline states the seizure flat; the body attributes it to the claimant ×1Attribution the toll is attributed to a body that is described but not named ×1Headline against body headline states the seizure flat; the body attributes it to the IRGC ×1How the objectors are framed opposition is described as protesters speaking for civilians ×1
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Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English
🇶🇦QA ·
TV/radio · state-funded international
What we have measured
Accusation attributed Cuba's charge is attributed to its foreign minister, not stated as fact ×1Actor named The headline names Israel as the actor and gives a count of three that includes a child. ×1Agency No actor is named for the detentions. The raids, not the soldiers, 'left' the town in lockdown ×1Agency Names Israel as the actor in the headline, in active voice ×1
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LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International)
LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International)
🇱🇧LB ·
TV/radio · independent
What we have measured
Active voice, actor named the Israeli army carried out the detonation ×1Actor framing Tehran calls the meeting. Iraq is the only other state named. ×1Actor left unnamed the strike in Iraqi waters has no one named as firing it — the source is "unknown" ×1Actor named names Israel as the one striking ×1
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The Times of Israel
The Times of Israel
🇮🇱IL ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
Actorless in own voice The killing is passive with no shooter in the se ×1Headline carries the purpose The livestock and the army's reason are in the h ×1Headline frame The headline carries the military's word for the ×1Military words carried whole Both the label for the dead and the phrase for t ×1
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A
Al-Sabaah
Ma'an News Agency
Ma'an News Agency
🇵🇸PS ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Al-Mada
Al-Mada
🇮🇶IQ ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
WAFA · Palestinian News & Information Agency
WAFA · Palestinian News & Information Agency
🇵🇸PS ·
state agency · state-controlled
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Al-Manar
Al-Manar
🇱🇧LB ·
TV/radio · independent
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Middle East Eye
Middle East Eye
🇬🇧UK ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
How hard the claim is stated Its own body says the investigators did not attribute the network to the Emirati state — the qualification its headline drops. ×1How hard the claim is stated The body withdraws in one line the attribution its own headline makes ×1How deeply it is sourced Cites its own past reporting as the evidence for the claim in its own headline, and calls the evidence widespread in its own voice ×1How deeply it is sourced Offers its own past reporting as the evidence supporting the claim in its headline, inside the same sentence that carries the denial. ×1
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Ammon News
Ammon News
🇯🇴JO ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →