What Has the IDF Said About NAZA? The Official Response Explained
The Israel Defense Forces has published a detailed response rejecting major elements of NAZA. Its response does not merely deny the documentary generally; it challenges how the film describes the targeting process, AI tools, expected civilian harm and the knowledge of anonymous interviewees.
The IDF’s central argument
The IDF says the documentary presents testimony from people familiar with limited intelligence stages as if they could describe the entire strike-planning and approval process. It says later operational, legal and command review is missing from the film.
AI and target selection
The IDF says artificial intelligence does not independently choose attack targets. According to its response, targets are identified by human analysts, approved by at least one authorised intelligence officer, and then pass through a wider planning and approval process that ends with an operational commander’s decision.
Lavender
The IDF says Lavender is a database for cross-referencing intelligence sources, not a list of approved targets, and that inclusion in it does not make a person a target.
Civilian-harm thresholds
The IDF says its regulations never gave automatic authorisation for strikes based on a fixed number of civilians at risk, and it specifically denies planning, approving or carrying out a strike in which 500 civilians were expected to be killed.
What the Guardian says in return
A Guardian spokesperson said the team had interviewed more than 100 sources over three years, beyond the 24 participants in the film, and that verification included leaked classified documents.