Arabic version: الفيلم الوثائقي «NAZA» يتناول شهادات بشأن الاستهداف في غزة

According to The Guardian, Holocaust and genocide studies professor Omer Bartov argues that the documentary NAZA offers a disturbing account of how intelligence personnel can become part of a system of distant killing. The film is directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and is built around interviews with 24 Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers.

Bartov writes that the film’s title is a Hebrew acronym for nezek agavi, meaning collateral damage. He says the terminology creates distance from the human consequences of targeting decisions, describing a process in which operators ask how many “NAZA” may be approved rather than directly discussing the people who could be killed.

The interviewees describe surveillance and targeting work connected to Gaza, Bartov says. Some recount accessing the phones, voices and photographs of people in homes that were later targeted. The article says the amount of approved collateral damage depended on the seniority of a target and could reach hundreds of civilians, according to those interviewed.

Bartov compares the film’s testimony with historical patterns in genocides, arguing that extreme violence depends not only on people who carry out killings directly but also on planners, bureaucrats and technical operators. He cites examples including Nazi Germany, Cambodia, Rwanda, the genocide of the Armenians and the destruction of the Herero.

The article says several participants wrestle with their role after the fact. One interviewee says Israel committed genocide in Gaza, while another describes treating airstrike work as “insanely fun” and says he moved quickly to the next mission. Bartov writes that their accounts raise questions about obedience, moral responsibility and the obligation to refuse unlawful orders.