Documentary NAZA Examines Israeli Intelligence Practices in Gaza

A preview screening of the documentary NAZA was held on Wednesday in downtown Manhattan. The film, which will debut in the United States at the New York Film Festival and enter theaters next week, includes video interviews—mostly with Israeli intelligence personnel—who discuss the use of artificial-intelligence systems to compile target lists in Gaza and the rules of engagement that allowed strikes on residential areas.

Reporters note that the material builds on reporting previously published in outlets such as +972 Magazine, Local Call and The Guardian, which described how the Israeli military gathered detailed personal data on Gaza residents, including information from phones and family photographs. According to the film, officers described procedures for confirming a target’s presence before authorizing a strike, sometimes using intercepted communications.

"What really stood out to me was the extent of the information gathering they describe in the film, the vast knowledge that the Israeli military apparatus has about everything that is happening inside Gaza: who lives where, where they sleep at night, what they’re doing during the day," said newsroom editor Natasha Soffer-Roth.

"The soldiers talk about how in order to authorize a strike on a target’s house, they want to get confirmation that he’s home. So they listen to what’s going on in the house through the phones of the targets’ families," added journalist Josh Nathan-Kazis.

The filmmakers, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, plan to make the documentary available online for free next month. The screening prompted a discussion among Jewish Currents staff about the implications of the film’s revelations for public understanding of Israel’s military operations and the broader debate over civilian protection in conflict zones.