Documentary NAZA alleges Israeli use of AI in Gaza attacks, IDF denies claims
The film NAZA, which won a Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, presents anonymous Israeli military personnel claiming AI was used to select civilian targets in Gaza; the Israel Defense Forces reject the allegations.
A documentary titled NAZA, directed by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, premiered at the Venice Film Festival and received the Special Jury Prize. The film features 24 current or former Israeli military intelligence officers and soldiers who, speaking anonymously and with altered voices, describe a program they say authorized large numbers of civilian casualties during operations in Gaza. They explain that the Hebrew acronym NAZA, used by the Israel Defense Forces, denotes "collateral damage" and that the acceptable number of civilian deaths varied from a few dozen to several hundred per attack.
According to the interviewees, Israeli forces deliberately targeted residential areas at night, relying on cell-phone tracking and a system they call "Lavender" that employed artificial intelligence to identify up to 70,000 human targets. One participant said that revealing his identity could lead to imprisonment.
An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson responded that the army "categorically rejects" the allegations and that any decisions about strikes are made by human personnel in line with IDF guidelines, not by artificial intelligence. The spokesperson added that the documentary relies on anonymous testimonies whose identities and roles cannot be verified and that some claims exceed the knowledge of junior-level soldiers.
The Gaza Ministry of Health reports more than 73,000 Palestinian deaths and over 173,000 injuries since the conflict escalated after the October 7, 2023 attacks. The documentary also includes allegations that Israeli snipers fired on civilians seeking food aid and that drone footage showed dogs feeding on corpses, though these statements are presented as claims from the interviewees.
"The IDF categorically rejects these allegations… decisions regarding the selection and approval of strikes in the IDF are made by human personnel only, in accordance with IDF guidelines, and not by artificial intelligence."
"According to the publications, the film relies on anonymous testimonies from individuals whose identity cannot be verified, including whether they served in the IDF, in what capacity, or whether they were involved in the matters about which the allegations are being made."
The filmmakers say the work aims to expose both spoken and unspoken aspects of the conflict, urging viewers to confront the silence surrounding civilian casualties.