Guardian documentary exposes occupation crimes in Gaza: mass killings by artificial intelligence
A new documentary produced by Britain’s The Guardian has revealed testimonies from 24 military insiders within the Israeli occupation army regarding the secret systems used in the war on Gaza, in the context of the mass killing of Palestinian civilians. The film, titled “Naza,” directed by Israeli Oscar-winning filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, was screened at the Venice International Film Festival yesterday, Thursday, as the only documentary competing for the prestigious Golden Lion award. The film’s title is derived from a military acronym used by the occupation army, metaphorically referring to civilians expected to be killed in a military strike, and includes extended testimonies from Israeli intelligence officers and soldiers involved in monitoring and remotely killing Palestinian civilians.
The newspaper stated that the interviews were filmed at night on rooftops in Tel Aviv, on the condition that the participants’ identities remain undisclosed due to the risks associated with publicly discussing the occupation army’s military activities. The participants’ appearances and voices were digitally altered in the film to conceal their identities. Those interviewed detailed the secret methods employed by the Israeli army in Gaza, including AI-based systems designed to identify large numbers of low-ranking potential Hamas targets, whose homes were bombed at night, with the knowledge that their families would also be killed. The army hacked into phones to locate these targets and secretly listened to conversations with their wives and children moments before they were all killed.
The film also includes eyewitness accounts of the destruction of neighborhoods, with the Israeli army estimating that up to 25% of the population was still sheltering in their homes, the systematic burning of civilian homes, and the killing of civilians at a food distribution site. The newspaper reported that many of those interviewed worked in a secret intelligence unit directly reporting to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office; one stated that their mission was to “sabotage peace.” In a director’s statement, Abraham and Szor said: “We made this film driven by our sense of obligation to use our position as Israeli filmmakers and journalists to examine the systems behind the mass killing of Palestinian civilians, for which our country bears responsibility.”
The directors emphasized that the film does not focus on “isolated war crimes committed by rogue soldiers,” but rather on “the orders themselves, the policies, the accepted practices, the language and logic that make those practices possible, and the people who operate within them. It is the system and its mechanisms.” The documentary was produced in collaboration with James Wilson, with Jonathan Glazer serving as executive producer—the same team behind the Oscar-winning film “Zone of Interest.”
The film received a standing ovation lasting approximately 25 minutes after its screening, according to Variety magazine, which described it as a record-breaking length for a standing ovation not only at the Venice Film Festival but at any major film festival. The report noted that Glazer embraced Abraham and Szor during the screening, while some audience members raised Palestinian flags.
The film “NAZA” is based on information first revealed by the Israeli-Palestinian magazine +972, the Hebrew-language website Local Call, and The Guardian between 2023 and 2025. It was filmed and produced under strict security due to the threats facing confidential journalistic sources, and its contents remained tightly guarded until its premiere on Thursday. Abraham stated, “In this film, we spoke to 24 people, and we are examining systems of mass killing. There is something in cinema that allows you to explore structures, systems, and how things come together.”
Since the occupation army’s attacks on Gaza began in 2023, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed, the majority of them civilians, and over 174,000 others injured, representing more than 10% of Gaza’s pre-war population. Israeli restrictions on food shipments led to a man-made famine last summer, and the occupation army has destroyed or damaged more than three-quarters of homes. Consequently, surviving Palestinians are now crowded into camps with limited access to clean water or sanitation.
