Director Jonathan Glazer has described Israel’s actions against NAZA’s creators and the military sources featured in the acclaimed documentary as far more malicious than he had foreseen.

Following the release, Israeli authorities have condemned the project and targeted those connected to it, including proposals to revoke citizenship for individuals accused of damaging the reputation of Israeli soldiers, labeling the co-directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor as traitors, and directing legal and security teams to locate and charge soldiers and officers who spoke in the film for undermining national interests.

During a conversation with the Guardian’s editor-in-chief Katharine Viner at the UK premiere in London, Glazer, serving as executive producer, explained that he was left speechless after his initial screening of NAZA, a Guardian-produced film that examines the extensive civilian toll in Gaza.

He observed that the work shares clear connections and explores comparable ideas with his own 2023 film The Zone of Interest, which portrayed the ordinary routines of Nazi officers at Auschwitz.

Israeli officials have launched an online video campaign styled after NAZA to challenge its conclusions. Glazer noted that while some backlash was predictable, the response struck him as considerably more spiteful than anticipated.

Abraham highlighted how the documentary reveals the processes enabling such acts between people, while Szor explained that interior shots of Tel Aviv homes were chosen to capture the daily habit of watching news coverage that either ignores or rationalizes the destruction in Gaza.

NAZA is currently screening in UK cinemas and will reach audiences in over 50 nations, with free access on the Guardian site beginning in late November. Upon its Italian release last month, it outperformed Avengers Endgame: Encore to claim the top spot.

The film features 24 interviews with Israeli military personnel who describe an AI-supported surveillance network deployed in the Gaza conflict, showing how targets were selected despite expected high civilian casualties.

Organizations such as the UN, Amnesty International, B’Tselem, and Physicians for Human Rights have stated that Israel is carrying out genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The premiere at the Venice film festival drew a record 25-minute standing ovation, and the documentary received the special jury prize.

Israeli officials have sought to undermine NAZA’s claims, while some far-right groups have issued threats against the directors.

The IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir vowed to deploy all available measures against the film, and the military issued a detailed 10-page rebuttal based on over 100 sources familiar with the wartime systems.

Protesters have appeared outside Szor’s family home calling for the death penalty, and a mural in Ashdod portrayed the filmmakers in gun sights.

At a New York Q&A, Szor and Abraham discussed the criticism, with Szor noting that the country works hard to conceal these operations even from its own citizens.

The Zone of Interest earned the Oscar for best international film in 2024. In his acceptance speech, Glazer rejected the misuse of Jewish identity and Holocaust memory to justify ongoing occupation and conflict affecting civilians in Gaza and Israel.

He added that the creative decisions aimed to prompt reflection on current events rather than past actions alone, emphasizing that the film illustrates the extremes of dehumanization and its ongoing influence.