Israeli army chief orders legal review of Gaza war documentary NAZA

Israel's Chief of General Staff, Eyal Zamir, has directed military lawyers to investigate potential legal action against the creators of the Gaza war documentary NAZA. The documentary, NAZA, received the special prize for jury selection at the Venice Film Festival. The film, directed by Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham, delves into the inner workings of Israeli military operations in Gaza, featuring interviews with 24 Israeli military and intelligence staff.

Their identities are obscured in the film, which focuses on how targets were chosen and the number of civilian casualties that were considered in attacks. The documentary's title, NAZA, is derived from a Hebrew acronym meaning collateral damage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the film as shocking, stating that while Israel fights antisemitic incitement externally, it is intolerable when it comes from within the ranks of the Israeli military.

The Israeli military has dismissed the allegations presented in the film, particularly criticizing its reliance on anonymous sources whose identities and roles within the military cannot be independently verified. Additionally, the army denied claims regarding the use of artificial intelligence, asserting that strike decisions are made solely by human personnel.

Zamir described the documentary not as a critical examination of the Israeli army but as defamation and a "deliberate distortion of reality." The military pledged to use all available means to protect its soldiers and the military's reputation. The Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, resulted in around 1,200 deaths in Israel and over 250 hostages taken to Gaza.

Since then, more than 73,600 Palestinians have been reported killed in Gaza by the Hamas-controlled health authority.