A new documentary about Israel’s military conduct in Gaza has triggered an unusually broad backlash across the country’s political and media establishment, according to Al Jazeera. The reaction has brought allegations that had previously received limited attention in Israel into the centre of the political debate ahead of October elections.
The film, NAZA, was made by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and received a 25-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. Al Jazeera reports that several of its central allegations had already appeared in earlier reporting, including claims that artificial-intelligence systems were used to generate military targets and that entire buildings were sometimes destroyed to kill one person identified by the system.
Culture Minister Miki Zohar called for the filmmakers to lose their citizenship and face an internal intelligence investigation for treason. Army chief Eyal Zamir dismissed the documentary as based on “blood libel” and ordered a legal investigation into its military and intelligence sources. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the film while promoting legislation to revoke the citizenship of people judged to have smeared Israeli soldiers. Graffiti calling the directors “traitors” was also reported in Ashdod.
The condemnation has extended beyond the governing coalition. Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot described the film as showing “moral blindness” and harming Israel, while former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called it a “horrific blood libel”. Orly Noy, an editor at Local Call, told Al Jazeera that politicians, journalists and others had targeted the filmmakers’ friends and families, describing the atmosphere as frightening.
Al Jazeera also cites criticism of Israeli media coverage of the war. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported escalating censorship and harassment in late 2025, while an October 2025 study by the Molad think tank found that only 3 percent of Channel 12’s coverage during the first six months of the war mentioned Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. Israeli journalist Anat Saragusti said mainstream outlets had done little to investigate the army’s conduct or report Gaza’s human toll. Political sociologist Daniel Bar-Tal said even opposition parties had joined criticism of the filmmakers, suggesting that the dispute crosses Israel’s usual political divisions.