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<\/a><\/p>\nRachel Szor and Yuval Abraham pose with the Special Jury Prize Award for “Naza” at the Winners Photocall during the 83rd Venice International Film Festival at Sala Grande in Venice, Sept. 12, 2026. (Elisabetta A. Villa\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The 80-minute documentary by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, two days after its premiere there drew a 25-minute standing ovation. In Israel, it drew widespread condemnation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, senior military officials, former hostages and other public figures. <\/p>\n
Eyal Zamir requested that Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Itai Ofir \u201cexamine security aspects and possible involvement in relation to the leak of classified materials used in the production of the film\u201d as well as advance \u201cpossible legal actions regarding the film and those involved in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zamir also convened senior IDF officials, including the deputy chief of staff, the military advocate general, the air force commander and the commander of the elite 8200 military intelligence unit to address what the army says are the film\u2019s distortions. <\/p>\n
In a statement announcing the meeting, Zamir denounced the film\u2019s allegations as \u201cblood libels,\u201d a \u201cdeliberate distortion of reality\u201d and \u201cfalse and grave accusations\u201d against Israeli soldiers and commanders. <\/p>\n
The film \u201cadopts narratives of Israel-haters, defames our soldiers and commanders, and seeks to present the IDF as deliberately acting unlawfully,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a dangerous attempt to deprive us of the legitimacy to defend ourselves against the worst of our enemies, and in the process, to put IDF soldiers and commanders in real danger,\u201d Zamir added. <\/p>\n
The IDF said in a separate statement that it \u201ccategorically rejects\u201d the film\u2019s allegations and questioned the credibility of its anonymous sources. It said some claims about national and military strategy were \u201cclearly beyond the knowledge of junior-level soldiers\u201d and that intelligence personnel cited in the film \u201cby definition would not have been involved\u201d in some of the situations described. It also rejected what it called the film\u2019s portrayal of unintended civilian deaths from lawful strikes as deliberate killing or part of a \u201cgenocide.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says that over 70,000 people have been killed in the war launched by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, with deadly raids inside Israel. The army does not dispute the number, but says that a substantial portion of the dead are fighters. Gaza\u2019s health ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.<\/p>\n
The military also disputed NAZA\u2019s depiction of artificial intelligence in targeting, saying such decisions are made \u201cby human personnel only.\u201d It said anticipated civilian harm is weighed against the expected military advantage before a strike is approved and that attacks are not carried out when that harm would be disproportionate. <\/p>\n
The IDF added that it had only seen excerpts and a trailer, and asked the filmmakers for a full screening before responding comprehensively. <\/p>\n
Israeli government agencies, including the Foreign Ministry, also met Monday to coordinate a response to the film and sent Israeli diplomats abroad talking points rebutting its allegations. The talking points accused NAZA of turning \u201cthe truth on its head\u201d and serving as a \u201cdisguise for Hamas propaganda,\u201d according to a foreign ministry document cited by Ynet. <\/p>\n
Netanyahu also condemned the film on Monday, calling it \u201cshocking\u201d in a video posted to X. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re fighting worldwide antisemitic incitement, but when it comes from within us, it\u2019s intolerable,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Culture Minister Miki Zohar went further, asking the Interior Ministry and Population and Immigration Authority to examine whether Abraham and Szor\u2019s conduct could justify revoking their Israeli citizenship. Zohar accused the filmmakers of harming Israel abroad and said officials should examine whether the way material for the film was obtained or published could amount to treason or assisting the enemy during wartime.<\/p>\n
Released hostage Eliya Cohen, who was held in Gaza for 505 days, also attacked the filmmakers, accusing them of spreading lies about soldiers who fought to bring him home and of endangering Israelis and Jews abroad. Cohen urged the public to hang posters with photos of the filmmakers so that \u201cwhen they walk down the street they will feel ashamed.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople should spit on them,\u201d he said. \u201cThe blood of our friends, the blood of Diaspora Jews, is on their hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abraham defended the film in a tense interview Monday with veteran Channel 13 journalist Raviv Drucker, who pressed him on how the filmmakers verified the accounts of the 24 anonymous soldiers. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have to tell you that as a journalist, I don\u2019t think I would have aired this,\u201d Drucker told Abraham, arguing there was \u201cno supporting evidence\u201d publicly available to independently confirm the claims. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have their names, we don\u2019t have their units,\u201d Drucker said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have the dates of the events, places, or who was hit. We basically have nothing to hold on to, to refute or confirm these very serious testimonies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abraham said editors at The Guardian, which produced the film, had access to the underlying material. \u201cThe identities of the people were verified, the cases they discussed were verified,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
He also accused Israeli television of failing to seriously investigate civilian casualties and rules of engagement in Gaza during the war. \u201cNAZA\u201d is the Hebrew acronym for \u201ccollateral damage.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than 1,642 Israeli film professionals signed a petition backing Abraham and Szor, accusing officials of waging an \u201cunprecedented campaign of incitement and vitriol\u201d against the filmmakers that they said came close to legitimizing of violence. Signatories included Ari Folman, Hagai Levi, Shlomi Elkabetz, Shira Geffen and Nir Bergman.<\/p>\n