‘Naza’ filmmakers decide to make the controversial film free to watch online beginning in November

Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham says NAZA, a documentary about the war in Gaza, will be made available online for free, without a time limit.

He said he made the decision with co-director Rachel and The Guardian, and that the release is planned for November at the earliest possible date.

Meanwhile, the filmmakers have offered the documentary to several Israeli cinemas at no charge so it can be screened in Israel alongside its international distribution.

Abraham described showing it as a “courageous” decision, citing pressure and threats that he says are intended to prevent its release.

Based on three years of reporting and filmed interviews with 24 Israeli soldiers, NAZA raises allegations concerning rules of engagement, strikes on homes, destruction of infrastructure, and gunfire near food distribution centers. Abraham says the filmmakers verified and cross-checked the accounts. The allegations remain those of the filmmakers and the soldiers interviewed.

“Journalism is not betrayal. Criticism is not betrayal,” Abraham wrote, urging other soldiers who witnessed similar events to speak publicly. He also said that acknowledging what happened in Gaza does not diminish the gravity of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre, which he called atrocious and unjustifiable.

Hamas has called on the International Criminal Court, UN bodies, and human rights groups to consider the film’s testimonies in investigations into possible war crimes. It says the accounts support its accusations of genocide and ethnic cleansing against Israel. Israeli authorities have repeatedly rejected those accusations.

Abraham said threats he has received since the film’s screening would not stop him from returning to Israel or continuing his work.