NAZA Film: Israeli AI Gaza Killings Exposed by New Documentary

• A new documentary titled "NAZA," by Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, details AI-enabled mass killings in Gaza.
• The film features testimony from 24 anonymous Israeli military and intelligence figures who describe combining AI with mass surveillance of Gaza's telecommunications network to identify targets.
• Filmmaker Yuval Abraham asserts that Israel's government is violating the 1948 Genocide Convention and aims to expel Gaza's population.
• Abraham and Szor hope the film will prompt Western nations to withdraw support for Israel and impose sanctions.
• The documentary premieres amidst a broader shift in Western public opinion regarding the Gaza conflict and Israeli policies.

The filmmakers explicitly hope that "NAZA" will galvanize Western nations to reconsider their support for Israel, urging them to withdraw aid and implement sanctions.

The documentary "NAZA," from Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, premiered recently at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, where it was a late addition to the main competition. This film, the result of a nearly three-year investigation, stands as the sole documentary vying for awards at this year's festival, which concludes on Saturday. Produced by Britain's Jim Wilson and Jonathan Glazer, known for their work on "The Zone of Interest," with additional support from the Guardian newspaper, "NAZA" presents compelling new testimony regarding artificial intelligence-enabled mass killings in Gaza.

Abraham and Szor, both accomplished investigative journalists, previously received critical acclaim for their film "No Other Land," which focused on Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Their latest project aims to shed light on the operational specifics of Israeli military AI targeting in Gaza, drawing on direct accounts from those involved. The film's title, "NAZA," itself is derived from an Israeli intelligence euphemism used to denote the anticipated number of civilian fatalities in an airstrike.

The core of "NAZA" features testimony from 24 Israeli military or intelligence personnel who agreed to speak on camera in Tel Aviv, provided their identities remained protected. The filmmakers' stated objective was to meticulously document "how the systems of killing in Gaza looked like, how they operated," according to Abraham. These firsthand accounts detail a sophisticated integration of AI technology with extensive mass surveillance across Gaza.

Specifically, the film describes how Israel monitored the entire telecommunications network within the territory to identify individuals for targeting. Abraham emphasized the direct correlation between these two elements, stating that "the mass surveillance is directly related to the mass killing." This combination of advanced artificial intelligence and pervasive monitoring forms the basis of the AI-enabled warfare Gaza service members described.

Yuval Abraham, aged 31, has publicly asserted his conclusion that the Israeli government, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is "violating the Genocide Convention of 1948" and is committed to the expulsion of Gaza's population. The documentary itself incorporates references to the Holocaust, with Abraham clarifying that while he does not claim equivalence, the film aims to highlight "similar patterns of dehumanisation."

The filmmakers explicitly hope that "NAZA" will galvanize Western nations to reconsider their support for Israel, urging them to withdraw aid and implement sanctions. Abraham articulated this sentiment, stating that those within Israel and Palestine striving for change "need it," and that inaction by Western powers "weakens the people inside who are supporting human rights and a political solution." This perspective directly challenges Israel's official position, which maintains that it does not deliberately target civilians in Gaza and attributes civilian casualties to Hamas operating within densely populated areas, where approximately 2 million people resided before the conflict.

The release of the NAZA documentary film occurs against a backdrop of significant casualties in the ongoing conflict. Since October 2023, approximately 73,670 Palestinians have been killed and 174,682 wounded in Israel's bombardment of Gaza, according to figures from Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable. This military action followed the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in 1,219 deaths, based on an AFP tally of official figures.

The Venice Film Festival has notably included several films addressing the Gaza conflict, reflecting a growing international focus. Last year, for instance, "The Voice of Hind Rajab," a docudrama recounting the killing of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl by Israeli forces in Gaza, secured second prize at the festival. Such cinematic contributions, alongside increasing condemnation of Israel's conduct from prominent entertainment figures, underscore a broader shift in public opinion across Western countries regarding the war and Israeli policies, particularly concerning Gaza Genocide Convention allegations.

This documentary presents direct testimony on AI-enabled targeting and mass surveillance in Gaza, providing potential evidence for international legal actions concerning war crimes or violations of the Genocide Convention. Lawyers specializing in international humanitarian law or human rights should analyze this testimony for its implications on state accountability and the legality of AI in warfare.

Source: Original reporting via AFP