Film reveals Israeli intelligence officers' role in targeting Gaza homes, sources say

What happened

The Guardian reports on NAZA, a new documentary by Israeli filmmakers Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham, which presents testimony from 24 anonymised Israeli military and intelligence officers involved in remotely targeting homes in Gaza. These insiders describe developing AI tools that identify phone signals to help select bombing targets, and reveal a systematic process behind airstrikes that knowingly anticipate civilian deaths.

Outside Brief is treating this as a source-led account. Any disputed responsibility, casualty figure, battlefield claim or single-source assertion should be treated as unconfirmed/hearsay unless confirmed by another reliable source or a named official. The film’s title, NAZA, is an acronym reportedly used by Israeli intelligence to quantify expected civilian casualties from strikes, underscoring a bureaucratic calculus where high civilian death tolls are accepted as collateral. One source cited in the film claims approval was given to allow the killing of 500 civilians (NAZA) to eliminate a single Hamas member, though this statement remains an unconfirmed allegation within the documentary.

NAZA does not focus on individual psychology but rather the industrial nature of the targeting system that distances the perpetrators—many working remotely in Tel Aviv—from their victims in Gaza. The film highlights the euphemistic language used, where ‘NAZA’ translates roughly to collateral damage, which in reality means human lives. The sources acknowledge their role in causing civilian deaths but describe themselves as 'small cogs' in a larger machine.

Known from the source

• NAZA is a documentary directed by Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham featuring interviews with 24 anonymised Israeli military and intelligence personnel.
• The film presents claims that Israeli intelligence officers developed AI tools to select bombing targets in Gaza based on phone signal tracking.
• Sources in the film acknowledge awareness that targeted buildings often housed civilians, including children.
• The Gaza health ministry reports over 73,000 deaths in three years of Israeli bombardment, mostly civilian.
• The film competes for the Golden Lion award at the Venice film festival and was executive produced by Jonathan Glazer.

What remains unclear

The documentary situates these revelations within a broader context of ongoing Israeli bombardment of Gaza, with the Gaza health ministry reporting over 73,000 deaths in three years, predominantly civilians. However, the film’s claims about targeting policies and casualty acceptance have not been independently verified beyond the insider testimonies it presents, making these assertions sensitive and significant for editorial scrutiny.

What remains unclear: Confirm whether the central claim is corroborated; until then treat it as unconfirmed/hearsay. Verification of claims about intelligence approval of civilian casualty figures (e.g., 500 NAZA for 1 Hamas member). Verification of sources’ authenticity and current employment status. Corroboration of the use of AI and phone data in target selection beyond the documentary’s testimony.

Evidence note

Outside Brief has kept this brief source-led and attributed. Claims should be read alongside the original source linked below.

Original source: The Guardian Gaza. Open the source.