Habsora / “The Gospel” and NAZA: What the Reported Targeting System Is
Habsora, referred to in English-language reporting as “The Gospel,” is described by +972 Magazine as an AI system that marks buildings and structures as targets. NAZA discusses AI-assisted targeting within a wider account of how suspected targets were identified during the Gaza war.
What the term refers to
According to +972 Magazine, The Gospel was covered in a November 2023 investigation by +972 Magazine and Local Call. The magazine’s April 2024 report on Lavender describes the two as different systems: The Gospel marks buildings and structures, while Lavender marks people.
What is reported about the film
The Guardian reports that NAZA features testimony from 24 anonymised Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers who describe AI-powered systems used to select targets. A Guardian interview feature says officers in the film describe helping to develop an AI mapping tool that searched for phone signals and recommended apartment buildings in Gaza to bomb. The Guardian coverage cited on this page does not name that tool.
What the IDF disputes
The IDF says AI systems do not independently select targets for attack. It says data tools only help human analysts cross-reference intelligence, and that the planning and approval of strikes rests with operational bodies and ends with an operational commander’s decision. The IDF response to the film does not mention The Gospel by name.
Why terminology matters
Using the names of different systems interchangeably makes the debate harder to understand.