Netanyahu's letter to security chiefs

The Israeli prime minister has written to attorney general Gali Baharav-Miara, IDF chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir and Shin Bet head David Zini, ordering them to identify the soldiers and officers who appear in the documentary NAZA and to bring them to justice. He said the move was needed because of damage to the country's diplomatic and security interests.

In the letter, Netanyahu demanded that the three act urgently: "act urgently to uncover the identity of all those who are involved or appear in the libel film". He called for "the opening of a criminal investigation and prosecution for serious information security offences, criminal defamation, and harming Israel's diplomatic and security interests".

The film and its reception

NAZA was directed by the Oscar-winning film-makers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and produced by the Guardian, and details Israel's mass killing of civilians in Gaza. It premiered last month at the Venice international film festival, where it won the special jury prize after drawing the longest ovation in the festival's history.

• •The film is in cinemas, including in the UK and the US, and will be shown in more than 50 countries.
• •Its title comes from an acronym used euphemistically by Israeli intelligence to indicate how many civilians it expects to be killed in an airstrike.
• •NAZA builds on revelations first published by +972 Magazine, the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call and the Guardian between 2023 and 2025.
• •The film's team interviewed more than 100 sources familiar with IDF systems used in the war in Gaza over the past three years, including senior-ranking commanders directly involved in authorising strikes.

Pressure on the film-makers

The Israeli government has attacked Abraham and Szor, threatening to strip them of their citizenship and accusing them of treason. Supporters of the government vowed to hound the directors on their return to Israel, and picketed Szor's parents' home in Savyon, chanting "Death sentence to traitors".

Lt Gen Eyal Zamir denounced the film as an "attack on the state of Israel", accusing it of spreading "lies and blood libels". He earlier ordered military and legal officials to identify the featured soldiers and examine possible legal action.

The government has also promoted an online film project that mimics the style of NAZA in order to challenge its findings. Ariel Averbuch, the Israeli attorney and army reservist behind NAZA: The Real Story, described his project as an "offensive move" intended to shift the world's focus away from the allegations against the military.

Defense, response and press freedom reaction

Military advocate general Itai Ofir cautioned that criminal prosecution would require evidence of security violations or disclosure of classified material, though disciplinary measures remained possible. A Guardian spokesperson said earlier this month that the credibility assessment of the testimonies was rigorous, including leaked classified documents, detailed verification of specific strikes and corroboration through a wider pool of confidential journalistic sources, and that "Journalists should be free to pursue public interest investigations without threats or harassment".

Ricardo Gutiérrez, general secretary of the European Federation of Journalists, which represents more than 320,000 journalists, said: "These threats constitute a blatant act of intimidation against journalists who have simply been doing their job". He said the regime was prepared to do anything to cover up crimes against humanity and genocide in Gaza.

• •Film industry figures worldwide, including the heads of the Locarno film festival, expressed solidarity with Abraham and Szor, saying they stood "firmly in support of film-makers' rights to pursue difficult and urgent subjects without fear of reprisal".
• •The protection of journalistic sources is a cornerstone of press freedom under international human rights standards, with disclosure orders permitted only under stringent conditions.

According to the military advocate general Itai Ofir, criminal prosecution would depend on evidence of security violations or the disclosure of classified material, though disciplinary measures remain an option.