NAZA film wins Special Jury Prize in Venice
The documentary NAZA by Israeli directors and journalists Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival in Italy. This was reported by The Jerusalem Post.
Military testimonies at the center of the film
The film’s title comes from an Israeli military acronym denoting collateral damage. The film is based on interviews with 24 Israeli soldiers and officers who, according to its authors, took part in planning and operating systems used during the war in Gaza.
The film’s authors claim that Israel’s military operations caused systematic mass civilian casualties. After the award was announced, Yuval Abraham said that Israeli intelligence officers interviewed for the film described the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza as systemic rather than accidental.
Abraham also said that Palestinian journalists had documented events since the start of the war and accused Israel of suppressing their voices. He urged audiences in Israel, Europe and the United States to watch the film.
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IDF position
The Israel Defense Forces categorically rejected the claims presented in the film. The military’s statement said that the film relies on anonymous testimonies from people whose identities, military functions and involvement in the described events cannot be verified.
The IDF also stated that some claims about state and military strategy allegedly go beyond the knowledge of lower-level soldiers. The military added that employees of the IDF Intelligence Directorate who, according to the film, were interviewed by its authors could by definition not have been involved in some of the situations mentioned.
The army rejected claims of deliberate harm to civilians and stated that it acts against terrorist organizations, primarily Hamas, in accordance with international law and the laws of armed conflict. The IDF also stated that decisions on selecting and approving strikes are made only by people, not artificial intelligence, and that specific suspicions of legal violations by servicemen are investigated.
