Netanyahu seeks identities of officers featured in ‘NAZA’ documentary
Usagevpn.com – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for urgent action to identify military personnel who appeared anonymously in the documentary NAZA, while also seeking prosecution of the film’s directors over what he described as damage to Israel’s diplomatic and security interests.
The film, made by Oscar-winning Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, includes testimony from 24 Israeli military intelligence officers, soldiers and whistleblowers. Their identities were concealed through digital alterations to both their faces and voices.
Netanyahu has asked Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir and Shin Bet director David Zini to investigate those involved in the production. His request calls for the identities of everyone involved in, or appearing in, what he labelled a defamatory film to be uncovered.
A documentary made under secrecy
NAZA was filmed during the Gaza war, with production taking place covertly at night on Tel Aviv rooftops. Its central focus is the way Israeli military targeting is conducted in Gaza, particularly the use of artificial intelligence, automated surveillance and intelligence systems in decisions surrounding strikes.
The documentary’s official synopsis says it examines the machinery behind what it characterises as Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Participants describe the targeting of Palestinians and the process used to carry out strikes, including situations in which civilians were known to be present in areas selected for attack.
The 80-minute production draws on investigative work published between 2023 and 2025 by Israeli-Palestinian journalism outlets and an international newspaper. By using anonymised accounts from people connected to military operations, the filmmakers sought to present testimony without exposing contributors to public identification.
The effort to identify interviewees raises a central question for journalists, filmmakers and potential whistleblowers: whether anonymity can protect people who disclose information of public importance when national-security institutions are directed to investigate them. The film’s participants took visible precautions, but Netanyahu’s intervention puts those safeguards under greater pressure.
International recognition and wide release
NAZA premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it received the Special Jury Prize. It was also met with a 25-minute standing ovation, described as the longest in the festival’s history.
The documentary is now playing in cinemas across more than 50 territories. A free viewing release on The Guardian’s website is planned for November, broadening access beyond its theatrical run.
The film’s recognition has not shielded its directors from political pressure at home. Abraham and Szor have previously faced attacks from the Israeli government, including threats that their citizenship could be revoked.
Concerns over pressure on journalists
Ricardo Gutiérrez, general secretary of the European Federation of Journalists, condemned the threats aimed at the directors and those connected to the documentary.
“These threats constitute a blatant act of intimidation against journalists who have simply been doing their job, in strict accordance with ethical standards and in the public interest.”
Commenting specifically on Netanyahu’s latest threats, Gutiérrez said the move reflected an attempt to suppress scrutiny of the war.
“I am not surprised by this outburst, which confirms that this regime is prepared to do anything to cover up its crimes against humanity and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
Netanyahu’s demand brings the conflict between the government and the filmmakers into a more direct legal and security arena. It also places the officers whose accounts underpin the documentary at the centre of a debate over military secrecy, freedom of expression and the public’s ability to examine how wartime decisions are made.
For viewers, NAZA is not simply a film about events in Gaza. Its release has become part of a larger dispute over who may speak about the conduct of war, how those accounts should be protected, and whether critical testimony can remain available when it challenges the policies of a government.
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