A chilling new documentary about Israel’s AI-assisted killing of civilians in Gaza by two Israeli directors won a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday.
“NAZA”, by Oscar-winning Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, had been tipped by some critics for the top Golden Lion prize for best film after a record-breaking 25-minute ovation at its premiere on Thursday. The film uses conversations with 24 different Israeli military or intelligence whistleblowers who spoke on condition that their identities be protected, with interviewees describing how they felt like they worked in a killing “factory” or a lethal video game.
The chilling 80-minute documentary comes from Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, with Abraham telling AFP the goal was to “hear in as much detail as possible, how the systems of killing in Gaza looked like, how they operated”. “NAZA” draws its name from a euphemism used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians that are expected to be killed in an airstrike. Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has killed at least 73,658 Palestinians since October 2023, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The pounding of the territory followed an attack on Israel by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
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The men and women featured in “NAZA”, speaking on the nighttime rooftops of Tel Aviv with their voices and faces digitally altered, detail an AI-powered system known as “Lavender” that was used to identify people for assassination. “Lavender” uses data from the mass surveillance of Gaza, where the entire telecommunications network is monitored by Israel, to identify targets based on their phone calls, movements and interactions. Interviewees describe the systematic destruction of civilian homes, the disregard for war and humanitarian laws, and a “general atmosphere” of “hatred” towards Palestinians. “It’s like a video game because everything is done remotely,” one interviewee involved in identifying targets says at one point.
Another describes it as “insanely fun”.
The Israeli military on Friday said it “categorically rejects” the allegations, and criticised the use of anonymous testimonies in the film, saying the identities of the whistleblowers “cannot be verified”, including whether they served in the military or in what capacity.
Since a US-backed ceasefire was declared in October 2025, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,350 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Source: Khaleej Times