JERUSALEM, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday demanded a criminal investigation to identify and prosecute military whistleblowers featured in "NAZA," a documentary examining the killing of Palestinian civilians during Israel's offensive in Gaza.
The film features anonymous interviews with 24 Israeli soldiers and military intelligence personnel, including members of the elite Unit 8200.
In a letter to the military chief, the head of the Shin Bet domestic security agency and the attorney general, a copy of which was seen by Xinhua, Netanyahu alleged that participants had disclosed highly classified information.
"You are required to urgently act to discover the identity of all of the people involved in the libelous film and those appearing in it," he wrote.
He called for criminal investigations into alleged "security information offenses, criminal defamation, and harm to state and security interests," and for those involved to be prosecuted.
The 80-minute documentary, produced by The Guardian and directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, won the Venice Film Festival's Special Jury Prize.
"NAZA," Israeli military shorthand for "collateral damage," examines how targets are selected and approved in Gaza, including through AI-assisted systems, and how expected civilian casualties were routinely calculated before strikes.
A United Nations commission of inquiry concluded in 2025 that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a finding it reiterated this year. Israel rejects the accusation. ■
