‘Tough to watch, impossible to ignore’: reviewers on NAZA documentary

NAZA is an investigative documentary produced by the Guardian. It examines Israel’s conduct during the Gaza war, focusing on the killing of Palestinian civilians and the systems used to select targets. Its importance comes from combining journalism with cinema and presenting testimony from people connected to the Israeli military.

The film includes 24 anonymous Israeli military insiders interviewed on Tel Aviv rooftops at night. They describe an AI-assisted system of mass surveillance and explain how Hamas operatives were targeted while large numbers of civilians were expected to die. Reviewers praised the film as a detailed and disturbing record.

NAZA premiered at the Venice film festival, won the special jury prize and received a record 25-minute standing ovation. It opened in UK cinemas and was scheduled for release in more than 50 countries. The Guardian also planned to make it free on its website from late November, widening access to its investigation.

NAZA has reached an unusually broad international audience for an investigative documentary. It was released in UK cinemas and is scheduled to be shown in more than 50 countries. The Guardian also planned to make it available free on its website from late November. This combination of cinemas and online access could bring the film to viewers far beyond festival audiences.

The documentary contains 24 interviews with Israeli military insiders. They speak anonymously on rooftops in Tel Aviv at night. Their testimony describes how an AI-assisted apparatus of mass surveillance operated during the Gaza war and how targets were selected despite the expected deaths of many Palestinian civilians.

The film’s reach has grown alongside strong critical attention. It premiered at Venice, received a record 25-minute standing ovation and won the special jury prize. In Italy, it topped the charts when it opened, showing that its release has already made a substantial public impact.

The anonymous interviewees are Israeli military insiders. NAZA presents 24 of them speaking on rooftops in Tel Aviv at night. They discuss the surveillance and targeting systems used during the Gaza war, including an AI-assisted apparatus that helped identify Hamas operatives while civilian deaths were expected.

Journalists commonly protect sources when revealing their names could expose them to retaliation, legal consequences, job loss, intimidation or physical danger. Anonymity can make it safer for insiders to provide evidence about powerful institutions. It also shifts attention toward the information they provide rather than their personal identities. The article does not state which specific risk affected these interviewees.

Their anonymity is part of the documentary’s reporting method, not proof that every claim is independently established in the article. The film presents their testimony alongside investigative reporting. Reviews describe NAZA as thoroughly documented, while organisations including the UN, Amnesty International and B’Tselem have also accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.

The documentary’s background is the Gaza war and the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict. NAZA focuses on Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, especially the killing of Palestinian civilians and the systems used to conduct the campaign. The article describes the film as an account of Israel’s mass killing of civilians and refers to the systematic annihilation of the Palestinian people.

A central example is the targeting of Hamas operatives. The film’s 24 military insiders describe an AI-assisted surveillance apparatus activated during the war. Their accounts indicate that targets were identified through this system even when military decision-makers knew that large numbers of Palestinian civilians would also die.

The conflict remains the documentary’s immediate setting and subject. The film was released internationally after premiering at Venice, where it won the special jury prize. Organisations including the UN, Amnesty International, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights have said Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, a claim that gives the film’s investigation wider political and legal significance.

NAZA describes artificial intelligence as part of a wider military surveillance and targeting system. According to the film’s anonymous Israeli military insiders, an AI-assisted apparatus of mass surveillance was activated during the Gaza war. The system helped identify people considered Hamas operatives and supported decisions about whom to target.

The key mechanism was not AI operating alone. The film connects automated or assisted identification with military decisions to strike targets. Those decisions were reportedly made with knowledge that large numbers of Palestinian civilians would also die. The article does not name the system, explain its software or provide technical details about how its algorithms worked.

This matters because technology can increase the speed and scale of military operations while making responsibility harder to see. NAZA presents the system as part of the wider conduct of the war. Its release, critical praise and international screenings are intended to focus attention on how surveillance and targeting affected civilians in Gaza.

When a military targets suspected militants while expecting many civilian deaths, families and whole communities can suffer devastating harm. Civilians may be killed or injured, homes and essential services may be destroyed, and survivors may face displacement and lasting trauma. The article presents NAZA as an investigation into this mass civilian suffering in Gaza.

The film’s central example involves an AI-assisted mass-surveillance apparatus used to identify Hamas operatives. Its Israeli military insiders describe targeting decisions made with knowledge that large numbers of Palestinian civilians would also die. This links the suspected militant target to the broader consequences of the attack, rather than treating civilian deaths as an unrelated event.

The consequences described by the article have prompted intense scrutiny. The UN, Amnesty International, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights have said Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. NAZA’s international release aims to document these systems and their human cost for audiences now and in the future.

Genocide is a legal term for certain acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. The laws of armed conflict, also called international humanitarian law, regulate warfare. They require parties to distinguish civilians from combatants and prohibit deliberate attacks on civilians, among other protections. These are established legal definitions beyond the article’s brief treatment.

The article reports that the UN, Amnesty International, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights say Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. NAZA investigates the alleged use of surveillance and targeting systems while large civilian deaths were known to be likely. Those facts raise questions about civilian protection and the legality of military conduct.

The documentary’s importance lies in making the alleged mechanisms visible. It premiered at Venice, won the special jury prize and is being released internationally. Its evidence and the organisations’ allegations may contribute to public, journalistic and legal scrutiny, but the article does not report a final court judgment.