The Israeli culture minister on Monday called for an investigation to identify the anonymous military sources featured in the award-winning documentary “NAZA” who accused the army of mass civilian killing in Gaza. In the film, directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor spoke to 24 anonymous Israeli military whistleblowers who outlined the AI-powered targeting systems used to bombard Gaza that have killed tens of thousands of civilians. The 80-minute documentary won a special jury prize at this year’s Venice Film Festival. In a post on X, Culture Minister Miki Zohar said he had asked authorities to “investigate how the materials were obtained, who is behind them, and whether in the process of obtaining or publishing them, actions were taken that amount to aiding the enemy during wartime”. He also said he had requested the interior ministry to consider revoking the citizenship of the two filmmakers on account of “treason”. “Freedom of expression is not a licence to betray the state. Anyone who acts against Israel during wartime should know that there will be a price to pay,” Zohar wrote. The revocation of nationality is legally possible in Israel, although it is rarely applied. In 2022, Israel’s Supreme Court confirmed that the state may strip people of their nationality for a breach of “loyalty to the State”, for example by committing acts of espionage or treason. The Israeli military has criticized the use of anonymous testimonies in the film, and contested a claim made by one interviewee that the army approved an airstrike in which 500 civilians were killed. “The filmmakers couldn’t possibly verify this claim, there is no real supporting evidence, and yet they published it anyway. Additionally, nothing about the interviewee, not his service nor his role can be independently checked and verified,” the military said in a statement on Monday. Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians. Abraham said “the Israeli intelligence officers we spoke with talked to us about how this mass killing is systemic: not by accident, but by design”. Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also took 251 hostages to Gaza. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,700 people, according to the territory’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
