In briefThe film was made by two Israeli filmmakers behind the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land.NAZA made its world premiere on Thursday at the Venice Film Festival.An Israeli minister has called for the award-winning directors of an Israeli-made Gaza documentary to be stripped of citizenship, accusing them of "treason against the state".In the film NAZA, Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor spoke to 24 different Israeli military or intelligence whistleblowers who outlined the AI-powered targeting systems used to bombard Gaza that have killed tens of thousands of civilians.The 80-minute documentary won a special jury prize at this year's Venice Film Festival over the weekend.Israel's culture minister Miki Zohar accused the directors of being willing to "harm their homeland in order to receive applause from antisemites around the world"."I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators for treason against the state," he wrote on X.News that makes senseYour trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.Abraham and Szor won an Oscar in 2025 for their film No Other Land about Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank.What is the NAZA documentary about?The documentary received a record 25-minute standing ovation at its premiere on Thursday — the second year in succession that a film about Gaza has resonated in Venice after The Voice of Hind Rajab, a true-life account of the killing of a Palestinian girl during the war."The Israeli intelligence officers we spoke with talked to us about how this mass killing is systemic, not by accident, but by ‌design, actions of murder and policies that are based on the total dehumanisation of Palestinians," Abraham said on Saturday."We believe that the denial of a crime is what helps it persist."In NAZA, 24 Israeli military insiders, including intelligence officers and soldiers, gave insight into the war in Gaza and what they say is the systemic killing of Palestinian civilians.The film was shot in secret on rooftops in Tel Aviv over three years, and digital alterations obscure the subjects' identities by altering their voices and appearances.The film's title references an Israeli military acronym used as a shorthand for civilian casualties, including men, women and children.The subjects in the film detail the surveillance systems and remote bombing involved in the Israeli military's operation, which they say uses artificial intelligence to identify potential Hamas targets and bomb their homes and apartments, often knowing that families are inside."We just told these officers and soldiers, please describe to us what you did," Abraham said in a news conference on Thursday. "Of course there were other questions that arose but the principal question was a question of detail — 'sketch it for us, we want to know how it worked'. And sometimes just asking the question, you get answers."NAZA builds on reporting between 2023 and 2025 published by the Israeli-Palestinian +972 Magazine, the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call and The Guardian. Szor spoke about the purpose of making a film with information that has already been reported and published.“We felt that there is still some sort of importance to take those testimonies and put it in a film,” Szor said. "It’s different to hear, actually, the people who designed and operated those systems talk about it in front of a camera, and sketch it, show it."The film left many audience members stunned, with interviewees describing how they felt like they worked in a killing "factory" or a lethal video game while using Israel's AI-powered targeting systems to bombard Gaza.It was described as an "urgent, gut-punch" by film magazine Screen, while The Hollywood Reporter said it inspired "outrage" and "most certainly disgust, on a profound level, for the current Israeli regime".The film was the only documentary in Venice's main competition.Abraham called it "really, really, especially important for us that Israelis watch this film"."It's our country that is doing these crimes," he said.What have other Israeli officials said?Other Israeli ministers also took aim at the directors, who won an Oscar in 2025 for their film No Other Land about Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank."You are a disgrace and an embarrassment to the entire people of Israel. Go away!" far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on X."I am certain that your friends, that is to say our enemies Hamas in Gaza, will welcome you with open arms," continued the far-right minister.Can their citizenship be revoked?The revocation of nationality is legally possible in Israel, although it is rarely applied.In 2022, Israel's Supreme Court confirmed that the state may strip people of their nationality if they have failed to show "loyalty", for example by committing acts of espionage or treason.The law was also expanded in 2023 to apply to people convicted of "terrorism".The law requires the interior minister to submit the revocation request, the justice minister to approve it, and judges to validate it.The Israeli military has criticised the use of anonymous testimonies in the film, saying on Friday the identities of the whistleblowers "cannot be verified".More than 73,000 people in Gaza have been killed since the war started, most of them civilians, according to Gaza ⁠health authorities.Hamas killed 1,200 people and captured 251 Israeli and foreign hostages during its 7 October 2023 attacks on the countryFor the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.