Israeli documentary 'NAZA' on AI-assisted killing in Gaza takes Venice jury prize

A documentary made by two Israeli directors about Israel's use of artificial intelligence in the killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza has won a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival. The Times of Israel reported that the film, "NAZA", was directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, both of whom it described as Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers, and that some critics had tipped the film for the Golden Lion, the festival's award for best film.

The Israeli broadcaster Ynet also carried the result, reporting in a news alert that "NAZA" had taken the jury prize at the festival. The Israeli channel N12 reported the award as following a storm of controversy and statements made against Israel around the festival, describing the film as a work critical of the Israel Defense Forces' operations in the Gaza Strip.

What the film is built on

According to the Times of Israel account, "NAZA" is constructed from conversations with 24 Israeli military or intelligence whistleblowers, all of whom agreed to speak only on the condition that their identities were protected. The report said interviewees described their work in terms of a killing "factory" and compared it to a lethal video game.

Reporting on Israel's use of AI-assisted targeting systems in Gaza has, in recent years, drawn on serving and former personnel who speak anonymously, a pattern the film appears to follow. Israeli military personnel are bound by strict rules on publishing information about operational matters, and material relating to intelligence work is subject to military censorship, which is why interviewees in such projects are typically unnamed and unidentifiable on screen.

The Venice prize, and what it is not

The Venice Film Festival, held each year on the Lido, the barrier island facing the Italian city, is one of the oldest and most prominent film festivals in the world. Its top award is the Golden Lion. A special jury prize sits below that in the festival's hierarchy and is awarded by the competition jury to a film it wishes to single out. Winning it means "NAZA" was distinguished by the jury but did not take the festival's principal honour, despite the expectations described in the Times of Israel report.

That report said the film had received a 25-minute ovation at its premiere, which it characterised as record-breaking. Standing ovations at Venice and at the Cannes Film Festival in France are routinely timed by trade press and treated as an informal index of how a competition title has landed with the audience in the hall.

Why an Israeli-made film on this subject is contested at home

Films by Israeli directors that are critical of the military's conduct have repeatedly become the subject of political argument inside Israel after doing well abroad, with the dispute usually turning on whether international recognition reflects the quality of the work or the politics of the subject. The N12 report framed the award explicitly in that context, placing it after what it called the storm and the anti-Israel statements surrounding the festival.

The directors are both known for journalism as well as filmmaking. The Times of Israel described Szor as a journalist and director and Abraham as an Israeli journalist and filmmaker, and both are identified in that report as Oscar winners. A photograph distributed by the agency AFP showed the pair at the photocall for "NAZA" at the Venice Lido on September 10, 2026, when the film was presented in competition at the 83rd edition of the festival.

The Hebrew title

The film is rendered in Hebrew as "נז"א", written with the punctuation marks Hebrew uses to mark an acronym, and transliterated in English-language coverage as "NAZA". The reports available do not spell out what the letters stand for, and readers should not assume a meaning from the transliteration alone.

What the reports do not say

The material is thin in several respects, and much of it rests on a single organisation. Only the Times of Israel account gives the detail about the 24 whistleblowers, the ovation and the directors' backgrounds; the Ynet and N12 items are short bulletins confirming the award itself.

None of the reports names the other prizewinners at the festival, or which film took the Golden Lion. None gives the jury's citation or any wording explaining why "NAZA" was singled out. There is no statement from Abraham or Szor in the material, and no response from the Israel Defense Forces, the Israeli government or any Israeli official to the award or to the film's claims. The reports do not describe which AI systems the film examines, over what period, or how its assertions were checked. N12 refers to a storm and to statements against Israel connected with the festival without detailing them, and the other two reports do not mention that dispute at all. Distribution plans, including whether the film will be shown in Israeli cinemas, are not addressed.