A must-see, award-winning documentary investigating AI warfare in Gaza
Fresh from winning the Special Jury Prize at the 2026 Venice International Film Festival, NAZA, the latest documentary from Academy Award-winning filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor (No Other Land), examines artificial intelligence and surveillance in Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Produced by The Guardian and JW Films, the documentary draws on interviews with 24 Israeli soldiers and intelligence personnel, conducted by Abraham over three years. Filmed at night on Tel Aviv rooftops, interviewees appear as silhouettes, with their voices altered to protect their identities.
Their accounts explore how AI-assisted intelligence and mobile phone surveillance were reportedly used to identify military targets, raising questions about civilian casualties and accountability.
The film takes its title from ‘Nezek Agavi’, a Hebrew military term meaning ‘collateral damage’. Interviewees describe a system in which potential targets were assigned a figure representing anticipated civilian deaths.
The documentary also examines the reported use of ‘Lavender’, an AI-assisted system described in earlier investigative reporting as helping identify individuals suspected of links to Hamas. According to interviewees, communications data could be used to identify potential targets, including people at home.
Several interviewees reflect on the distance between making targeting decisions and witnessing their consequences, raising questions about the reliability of AI-generated intelligence and responsibility for its use.
Night-time footage of Tel Aviv contrasts with scenes from Gaza, where destroyed homes and the search for missing family members reveal the human cost of the conflict.
Following the international recognition of No Other Land, Abraham and Szor turn their attention to the systems behind modern warfare. NAZA asks what happens when life-and-death decisions are increasingly shaped by data, algorithms and remote surveillance.
The documentary invites audiences to consider the relationship between technology, military power and civilian protection, and who is accountable when decision-makers are far removed from the consequences.
NAZA screens at Palace Cinemas Byron Bay, all week. Check the cinema’s website for session times and bookings.
www.palacecinemas.com.au/cinemas/palace-byron-bay.
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