Netanyahu demands criminal probe into Israeli soldiers in award-winning doc

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a criminal investigation into anonymous sources depicted as Israeli soldiers in a documentary alleging that the country’s military used AI-powered targeting systems to kill civilians in Gaza, according to a letter released by the premier’s office, as cited by The Times of Israel.

NAZA, an 80-minute-long film – the name alludes to an Israeli military shorthand for expected “collateral casualties” – is based on the accounts of anonymous Israeli military and intelligence insiders alleging that the IDF heavily relied on AI systems to identify people and homes for attack on a massive scale, often disregarding collateral civilian casualties. Some insiders described the process as “insanely fun” and akin to a “video game.” Israeli insiders allege in the film that the IDF used an AI system called Lavender to identify assassination targets, relying on data from thousands of hacked phones. Even the phrase “daddy’s home” detected on a child’s phone could reportedly trigger an attack.

The documentary, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, received a 25-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize.