Netanyahu Threatens Prosecution Over Gaza War Documentary

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded that participants in the documentary "Naza" be investigated and prosecuted for what he calls "serious crimes against Israel's security." The film describes the mass killing of civilians in Gaza. It is based on testimony from 24 Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers. In a statement from his office on Sunday, Netanyahu said the film "builds a false, misleading and biased narrative that defames the State of Israel and the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) worldwide, and severely damages Israel's image." He accused those involved of "serious crimes against information security, criminal defamation and harm to the country's diplomatic interests." Netanyahu sent his request to the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir; the director of Shin Bet (the internal intelligence service), David Zini; and the Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara. Much of the documentary is based on investigations since 2023 by Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, the film's co-director. His work was published in the Israeli-Palestinian magazine +972 and the British newspaper The Guardian, which also produces "Naza." In those investigations, intelligence sources described how Israel moved — after October 7, 2023 — from approving the deaths of dozens to hundreds of civilians as "collateral damage" in attacks targeting senior Hamas officials. "Naza" takes its name from the acronym used by Israeli intelligence to estimate how many civilians could die in an attack — for example, "20 NAZA." The documentary describes the Israeli practice of bombing Palestinian homes with entire families inside once the father, an alleged Hamas militant, returns home to sleep. It also covers the use of artificial intelligence models that predict — based on phone call patterns and with a 15% error rate — the probability that a Gazan is a militant, creating a list of possible targets. The soldiers in "Naza," speaking anonymously because of possible retaliation, also say the army bombed areas under evacuation orders in Gaza while knowing civilians were still there. The Israeli army says its rules prohibit deliberately attacking civilians and require commanders to take steps to reduce harm to civilians. It also says final decisions on attacks and assessments of civilian risk rest with officers. On October 2, The Guardian defended the investigation. It said it had consulted more than 100 sources over three years who knew about the Israeli military systems used in the war, including senior commanders involved in authorizing attacks. It also said it checked the testimonies against leaked classified documents and by verifying specific operations. In September, Israel's Culture Minister asked for the citizenship of the documentary's authors to be revoked. The film was awarded at Venice. Its directors say they will not return to Israel yet because of Netanyahu's threats.