Filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor defended their investigative documentary NAZA at its North American premiere in New York on Saturday, September 26, 2026.
The screening took place as Israeli officials escalate threats to revoke their citizenship.
The 80-minute film presents testimony from 24 anonymized Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers.
It details the military's use of artificial intelligence to generate expansive target lists and determine acceptable thresholds of civilian casualties during strikes in Gaza.
Produced with The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call, the documentary takes its title from the Hebrew military acronym for collateral damage.
Directors Address State Secrets and Ongoing Crimes
During a post-screening panel at the Lincoln Center, the directors addressed the state secrets surrounding these targeting systems and the government's attempts to suppress their reporting.
"Our country is doing so much to hide these systems," said Rachel Szor, director of NAZA.
"It's not a world that is open even to the Israeli public."
The filmmakers emphasized that the military operations depicted in their covertly filmed documentary represent ongoing policies backed by foreign funding.
"These crimes that you saw are ongoing," said Yuval Abraham, co-director of NAZA.
"They're ongoing because it's what our country is doing, and because of what your country is supporting and funding."
Abraham further expanded on the necessity of investigative methods when confronting state-sanctioned violence and government secrecy.
"Throughout the history of investigative journalism, very often granting confidentiality to sources is a means to pursue the truth," said Abraham.
"This film could not have been made any other way and because the crimes are ongoing, we felt that it was important to make it."
Addressing the financial connection between the United States and the Israeli military infrastructure documented in the project, Abraham pointed directly to American military aid.
"These soldiers are talking about what has been done with the taxpayer money of the people sitting here," said Abraham.
The premiere occurred alongside protests outside the theater referencing the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas that killed 1,200 Israelis.
Abraham addressed those demonstrations directly while asserting that past actions cannot justify mass civilian death.
"It's in the film and it's completely unjustified," said Abraham.
"But it also cannot justify what you've seen in the film. It doesn't justify the slaughter of so many civilians in Gaza."
He concluded his remarks by criticizing political figures who utilize public trauma to excuse ongoing military actions.
"I don't want to live in a world where rightful empathy to Israeli victims is weaponized by leaders like Netanyahu – cynical people who promise nothing other than," said Abraham.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Culture Minister Miki Zohar have called for revoking the directors' citizenship, accusing them of treason.
Netanyahu, who likened the documentary to launching ballistic missiles at Israel during an interview with Makor Rishon, denounced critics and defended military operations during an address at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir also pledged to use all military tools against the film's distribution.
Despite opposition from state officials, over 1,500 Israeli film professionals, 43 human rights organizations, and international press freedom groups have issued statements supporting the filmmakers.
Following its Venice Film Festival debut earlier this month, NAZA is scheduled for theatrical distribution across 55 countries before streaming globally for free on The Guardian's platform in November 2026.
