‘No Other Land’ Co-Directors on Their New Hot-Button Doc ‘NAZA’ and Interviewing 24 Israeli Soldiers in ‘Total Secrecy’: ‘There Is Still So Much Denial of What Is Happening’ in Gaza
Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, two of the four co-directors behind the Oscar-winning "No Other Land," have brought a new documentary, "NAZA," to the Venice Film Festival. The film, produced with The Guardian and Jonathan Glazer's team behind "The Zone of Interest," examines the military systems behind what the filmmakers describe as human rights organisations' assessment of a genocide against Palestinian civilians in Gaza, marking a continuation of their focus on documenting systemic actions by the Israeli state rather than isolated incidents.
"NAZA" is built around anonymous, digitally disguised interviews with 24 Israeli military intelligence officers and soldiers involved in surveillance or remote killing operations in Gaza, filmed secretly over three years on Tel Aviv rooftops. The title refers to a military intelligence term for the expected number of civilian deaths from an airstrike, and the film covers the use of AI in target selection, killings at humanitarian aid distribution sites, and strikes on displaced people and families in their homes. It is the only documentary in this year's Venice competition lineup and builds on prior investigative reporting by The Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call.
- "No Other Land" directors unveil new Gaza documentary "NAZA" at Venice
- Film features 24 anonymous Israeli soldiers describing military operations in Gaza
- Made in three years of secrecy; produced with The Guardian and Jonathan Glazer
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Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor previously co-directed "No Other Land," a documentary about the demolition of Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank that won the Oscar for Best Documentary. They are now presenting a follow-up film, made with backing from The Guardian newspaper and the production team behind Jonathan Glazer's "The Zone of Interest," at the Venice Film Festival, one of the world's most prominent showcases for new cinema.
The new film centres on testimony from current and former Israeli military intelligence personnel who took part in surveillance and strike operations in Gaza during the ongoing war there, which began after Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023. To protect their sources, the directors altered the soldiers' voices and appearances and filmed them in secret over a three-year period.
The documentary explores how militaries use technology, including artificial intelligence, to help choose targets for airstrikes, and looks at the civilian toll of the conflict, including at sites where aid has been distributed. It arrives at a moment when the war in Gaza, and the conduct of the Israeli military within it, remains a deeply contested and closely watched subject internationally.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters of the documentary argue that first-hand testimony from soldiers and intelligence officers who took part in the operations they describe is a uniquely powerful and credible form of journalism, particularly when corroborated by prior investigative reporting from established outlets such as The Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call. They contend that whistleblowers who risk their careers and safety to speak, even anonymously, deserve to be heard, and that documenting systemic military practices rather than isolated incidents is essential to public accountability and to ensuring that human rights concerns raised by international organisations are properly scrutinised rather than dismissed.
The case against
Sceptics of the film's framing argue that relying entirely on anonymous, digitally disguised sources makes the claims impossible to independently verify, cross-examine or contextualise, and that presenting a contested legal and political question such as genocide as settled fact risks prejudging matters still being examined by courts and international bodies. They maintain that Israeli soldiers operate in an exceptionally difficult combat environment shaped by Hamas's alleged use of civilian infrastructure and human shields, and worry that a high-profile film lacking direct rebuttal from military or governmental voices, premiered at a major festival, could shape public opinion on a one-sided basis rather than fostering balanced understanding.