NAZA, the documentary on the Gaza genocide by two Israeli filmmakers has taken the world by storm. Audiences have met the movie with silence, because once one sees the film, it makes such an indelible impression that it leaves one speechless. In Venice it was acclaimed with a 25-minute standing ovation after the silence. The film received the Special Jury Prize Award at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. The truth about the Gaza genocide has now been revealed by non-other than a group of IDF whistleblowers, whose conscience was so heavy with the burden of responsibility for the death of thousands of innocent Palestinians, that they could no longer remain silent. Starting in November the film will be available to stream online for free.
Diana Mautner Markhof
8 October 2026
NAZA, which by the way stands for collateral damage as in collateral damage during a war, is a film by two Israeli filmmakers, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. It was produced by The Guardian and JW Films. iGlobenews saw the film at one of the few Austrian cinemas airing the documentary. Interestingly, NAZA has been shunned by the large cinema chains. Only small independent cinemas had the courage to air the film. It should be noted that no cinema in all of Israel has aired NAZA. And after seeing it, I am not surprised.
For someone who has been keeping up with the genocidal war in Gaza after the massacre on 7 October, I thought I was well-prepared for what I was about to see when I sat down in the movie theater on Monday, 5 October. The cinema was packed.
It was in fact my second attempt to see this film. I tried to buy tickets at the box office without a prior reservation on the previous Friday – no chance. Too many people had made reservations. I can say with certainty that every showing was sold out. Despite this, the movie was only shown on one weekend and the following Friday, in a handful of cinemas in Vienna. A coincidence? Or was there too much pressure not to show this film which makes Israel and its present leaders look really really really bad (to put it mildly).
I personally wanted to see the film first-hand and not rely on accounts by others. And although I was so shocked by what I saw, it did not really surprise me. The interviews, conducted under the cover of darkness in Tel-Aviv on the rooftop of a skyscraper, had a perfect setting. It showed that even those who had the guts to talk about what was going on, still lived in fear of retribution should they be recognized. Even the closing credits had numerous „anonymous“ listings of people too afraid to put their names down.
Let me start by saying the film was excellently made from a cinematic point of view. While talking to these anonymous whistleblowers from Israel’s intelligence community, the viewer looked into the apartments of regular Israelis going about their nightly routine. Netanyahu made some prominent appearances on TV which the viewer saw through the window. When the whistleblowers talked about how the IDF was given the order to shoot any Palestinian who stepped out of line while waiting for food, they showed people eating, cooking and food placed on tables within the apartments. When the whistleblowers talked about how AI and some top-notch programmers developed Lavender – an AI program designed to find Hamas fighters through monitoring the cellphones of their family members – the viewer peeped into the apartment complex and saw families going about their daily life and Netanyahu on TV saying how moral Israel was. He also said no civilians were ever targeted. A claim we now know is a lie.
Instead of trying to reduce collateral damage, the IDF with the help of this AI program and the intelligence officers in the background, only counted the NAZA (2,5,20, sometimes as much as 300 or 500 NAZA). The longer the documentary continued the more the viewers sunk into their chairs in disbelief.
One whistleblower who was interviewed said that he hates the Nazis in Germany. His family was from Poland. But now he is not sure what to call himself. Implying that he too should be called a Nazi, considering the systemic killing and extermination of the Palestinians in Gaza he was actively involved in.
Let us not forget that merely 24 whistleblowers came forward to talk about their experiences. All their stories were consistent with each other. It was a deeply moving discussion and it made no difference to the viewer that we did not see their faces or know their names.
Although they were involved in genocide (and that is their own word not mine) – they are the „good“ ones–those who reflected on what they have done. The very large majority of those involved are according to their account „proud“ to be part of the “elite” departments of the IDF intelligence who designed the Hamas targeting programs. When asked how any human could treat another human so inhumanely, the answer did not surprise: hate. The goal, as stated by the whistleblowers, was clear: remove all and every Palestinian from Gaza-dead or alive, street for street, apartment block for apartment block, house for house, apartment for apartment. The goal according to the interviewees is the “complete eradication of all Palestinians from Gaza”.
The truth about Gaza can never be untold. NAZA is a film everyone should see. It is the least we can do to support those innocent children, women and civilians in Gaza who were treated as nothing but targets, as collateral damage, as NAZA, in a race by the IDF to exterminate an entire civilization while the whole world watched.
Netanyahu now wants to revoke the citizenship of the two Israeli filmmakers of NAZA. As if taking away their citizenship will remove the horrible truth which has now been revealed. With the Israeli elections looming, the world will be watching closely how the Israeli public reacts to this film and the truth about the Gaza genocide which has now been documented for all to see. Will the Prime Minister who is responsible for this genocide be re-elected or will Israelis elect a new leader and by so doing quite possibly “save” themselves from the burden of NAZA.
