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The short version

  • Israeli embassies and government bodies are promoting a hastily produced online film that mimics the aesthetic of NAZA, a documentary detailing civilian casualties in Gaza.
  • The original filmmakers face potential loss of citizenship and accusations of treason as authorities attempt to discredit their work through legal and diplomatic channels.
  • Technical analysis suggests inflated view counts on the counter-film’s website, raising questions about the authenticity of its reported reach and engagement metrics.

A new digital media campaign has emerged from Israeli government channels, promoting an online film designed to counter the narrative presented in NAZA, a critically acclaimed documentary about the war in Gaza. The original film, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, details the use of artificial intelligence and mass surveillance systems by the Israeli military during operations that resulted in significant Palestinian civilian casualties. In response, state-affiliated actors have distributed a rival production titled NAZA: The Real Story, which adopts similar visual techniques, including anonymized interviews filmed on Tel Aviv rooftops, to challenge the findings of the Guardian-produced documentary.

The counter-film is hosted on a website registered shortly after NAZA premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. Initially, the domain presented itself as an official promotional page for Abraham and Szor’s work, listing their names as directors and outlining upcoming festival screenings. This presentation included a distorted synopsis that removed references to Palestinian civilian deaths, instead framing the military actions as calculated responses to terrorism. After the rival video was uploaded, the site shifted focus entirely to the new production, removing the misleading attribution to the original creators.

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Ariel Averbuch, an attorney and army reservist who produced the counter-film, described the project as an offensive strategy intended to redirect global attention away from allegations of civilian harm. He argued that the film aims to highlight what he characterizes as the moral conduct of the Israeli military. Another contributor listed on the site is Roi Danino, a candidate for the right-wing Israel First party. The website displays a viewer counter claiming over 42 million views, a figure that technical analysis suggests may be inflated by automated requests or bot activity rather than genuine human viewership. The official YouTube channel for the video shows significantly lower engagement, with approximately 30,000 views.

The Israeli government has taken formal steps to discredit the original documentary and its creators. Officials have announced plans to revoke the citizenship of Abraham and Szor, accusing them of treason for their work. This legal threat coincides with broader efforts by far-right activists to harass the filmmakers, including threats to hunt them down. The Israeli Defense Forces’ chief of staff has stated that all available tools will be used to address what the military perceives as false allegations. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed it was not involved in producing the counter-film but sought to amplify its message to challenge what it termed blood libels.

NAZA won the special jury prize at Venice, receiving the longest ovation in the festival’s history. The documentary features interviews with Israeli military insiders who describe an AI-assisted surveillance apparatus activated during the conflict. These accounts reveal how targeting systems were used against Hamas operatives while acknowledging that large numbers of civilians would also be killed. The film is currently screening in cinemas across more than 50 countries and will be available for free on the Guardian’s website later this year. A spokesperson for the publication condemned the government’s promotion of the rival film as a brazen attempt to mislead audiences and distract from urgent questions about civilian protection.

The context of this media dispute is the ongoing military campaign in Gaza, which has resulted in more than 73,000 Palestinian deaths since October 2023. A United Nations commission has described these events as genocide, a characterization that Israeli officials strongly reject. The controversy surrounding NAZA reflects broader tensions between state narratives and independent journalistic investigations into the conduct of the war. Averbuch’s organization also engages in advocacy warfare, including publishing scripts to help influencers criticize previous works by Abraham and Szor, such as No Other Land, which documented destruction in Masafer Yatta.

The Palestinian co-directors of No Other Land, Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal, have faced harassment and detention by Israeli military forces since their film won an Oscar in 2025. This pattern of targeting filmmakers suggests a systematic effort to suppress critical perspectives on Israeli military operations. The promotion of NAZA: The Real Story appears to be part of this broader strategy, utilizing digital platforms to disseminate alternative narratives that align with government positions. The discrepancy between the claimed viewership and actual engagement metrics raises further questions about the transparency and integrity of the counter-campaign.

As the original documentary expands its global release, the conflict over its interpretation intensifies. Israeli embassies have shared links to the counter-film on social media, framing it as a necessary correction to false allegations. The government has awarded the creators of the rival film a certificate of appreciation for their contribution to public diplomacy, citing the tens of millions of views reported on their website. However, independent analysis indicates these numbers may not reflect genuine audience reach. The situation underscores the challenges faced by journalists and filmmakers operating in highly polarized environments where state power is used to contest factual accounts of conflict.

The debate over NAZA highlights the intersection of technology, warfare, and media representation. By mimicking the style of the original documentary, the counter-film seeks to create confusion among international audiences regarding the validity of its claims. The use of anonymized sources and similar visual aesthetics blurs the line between independent journalism and state-sponsored propaganda. As more countries prepare to screen NAZA, the effectiveness of these counter-narratives will likely be tested in public discourse. The outcome may influence how global audiences perceive the accountability mechanisms surrounding modern military operations.

Future developments will depend on whether legal actions against Abraham and Szor proceed and how international institutions respond to the allegations raised in both films. The Guardian has committed to making NAZA freely accessible, ensuring that its content reaches a wide audience regardless of distribution barriers. Meanwhile, the Israeli government continues to assert that its military actions are justified and moral, using every available tool to defend its position. The ongoing dispute serves as a case study in how digital media can be weaponized to shape perceptions of conflict, with significant implications for press freedom and historical record-keeping.

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