IDF Pushes Back on “NAZA” Film: “Distortion of Facts and Emotional Manipulation”

The IDF released a detailed response Thursday morning to the film “NAZA,” after a military representative viewed it at a screening in Bologna, Italy. The military says the film presents a “distorted, misleading, and unrealistic” picture of strike-planning processes through manipulative editing, omitted context, and comparisons to historic atrocities, while falsely and baselessly attributing malicious intent to the IDF.

One of the claims the IDF rejects concerns the use of artificial intelligence: “Artificial intelligence has never independently selected targets for attack in the IDF.” According to the military, targets are identified by qualified intelligence officers, while strike planning is carried out by professional personnel. It also clarified that “Lavender” is not a database of approved targets, but rather a database that assists intelligence analysts.

The IDF also rejects claims regarding a pre-set number of civilians who could be put at risk in a strike: “The IDF has never planned, approved, or carried out any strike in Gaza in which it was expected that 500 civilians, or a number close to that, would be killed.”

The military emphasizes that its directives explicitly distinguish between terrorists and uninvolved civilians, prohibit directing attacks at civilians, and require minimizing harm to them as much as possible. According to the IDF, the civilian-harm assessments that the film portrays as indifference to civilian lives actually demonstrate the effort to protect them. In practice, these processes have in some cases led to requests for additional intelligence, changes to plans, canceled strikes, and the abandonment of military opportunities.

The IDF further claims that some interviewees raise “speculations and feelings devoid of any factual basis,” and that the film is “driven by a clear agenda.” According to the military, its creators distorted facts, ignored previous IDF publications and explanations, and used emotional manipulation and dramatic effects.

“The IDF has acted and continues to act humanely, even if the film’s creators did everything in their power to conceal this fact,” the statement said. The military added that, contrary to standard practice, the filmmakers did not submit their claims to the IDF for review and response before publication, and did not provide a copy of the film after its screening, despite the military’s request.