NAZA was produced in association with the far-left British newspaper, The Guardian, which frequently publishes articles critical of Israel.

By Hezy Laing

Hamas is actively leveraging the anti-IDF film NAZA, which recently won a Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, against Israel in international legal and political arenas.

The group has officially seized upon the allegations made in the film, which features testimonies claiming that the IDF used AI systems and incorporated mass civilian casualties into its targeting policies, urging international bodies to adopt the film’s contents as evidence.

Yesterday Hamas issued a public statement calling on the International Criminal Court, United Nations bodies and human-rights organizations to investigate and document the allegations presented in NAZA, saying the film’s material should be treated as evidence for investigation and accountability into accusations of war crimes, genocide, and ethnic cleansing.

Hamas also highlighted the film’s European reception and festival accolades to argue that testimonies originating from within the Israeli military establishment validate its claims, using the documentary to reinforce global diplomatic and public pressure against Israel.

Iran is also using NAZA as part of its propaganda campaign against Israel.

Iran’s state-linked Press-TV prominently promoted the documentary following its Venice premiere, presenting the film’s allegations as evidence of Israeli “mass killings” in Gaza.

This gives Tehran a new Israeli-produced source to amplify its longstanding accusations against Israel, while Israel rejects the film’s allegations and has challenged the reliability of its anonymous testimony.

Critics have also questioned the film’s methodology and potential bias.

NAZA was produced in association with the far-left British newspaper The Guardian, which frequently publishes articles critical of Israel.

Recent reports have revealed that NAZA director Yuval Abraham has a longstanding relationship with Gaza activist Ahmed Alnaouq, a senior figure at the Hamas-linked Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.

The film relies on the highly inflated casualty figures from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, which do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

In addition, it uses anonymous testimony from individuals it claims are Israeli military and intelligence sources, whose identities and claims cannot be independently verified.