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Yuval Abraham, co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land," announced that his new film "NAZA" will be released online for free with no time limit starting in November, while the team offers the film at no cost to cinemas in Israel in hopes it screens there alongside its rollout in theaters worldwide.
The documentary is built around interviews with 24 anonymous Israeli military soldiers and officers, their faces and voices digitally altered to protect their identities, describing the military's use of artificial intelligence and automated targeting systems during their war against Gaza.
The film's title comes from an Israeli military acronym derived from the Hebrew term "nezek agavi," meaning "collateral damage," a designation covering the number of civilian deaths considered acceptable in a single strike.
The film has prompted a fierce backlash in Israel, where critics have called it an act of treason and accused the filmmakers of being "traitors."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would push legislation, which he called the "NAZA laws," to revoke citizenship from anyone who "defames" Israeli soldiers.
Israel's Minister of Culture, Miki Zohar, called for the country's internal security service to investigate Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor as part of a process to consider revoking their citizenship, as well as to investigate the soldiers who spoke in the film.
Abraham and Szor have not returned to Israel since the film's Venice premiere.
"Journalism is not betrayal. Criticism is not betrayal. It is the duty of every citizen whose government commits crimes to know, and of every soldier who witnessed them to tell," Abraham said in his statement.
He said soldiers in the film described killing unarmed civilians who crossed informal boundary lines, authorizing hundreds of civilian deaths as acceptable collateral damage, and systematically striking family homes. They also detailed the total destruction of Gaza and shootings aimed at civilians seeking food at distribution centers.
Abraham said the backlash against him and Szor would not deter them, and that the two intend to return to Israel and continue advocating for the region's future.
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