Israeli Counter-Film 'NAZA: The Real Story' Garners Over 22 Million Views
Translated & summarized from NEWSru Israel by baba
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Israeli documentary "NAZA: The Real Story" has surpassed 22 million views in under a week.
- The film offers a counter-narrative to "NAZA," focusing on Hamas's alleged use of civilian infrastructure.
- It features interviews with IDF commanders and soldiers discussing Gaza operations.
- The project's creators aim to provide an alternative perspective to claims of high civilian casualties.
- The film is available for free and its website supports 18 languages.
The Israeli documentary "NAZA: The Real Story," produced as a response to the award-winning film "NAZA" by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Shore, has garnered over 22 million views in less than a week since its active distribution began, according to the project's creators. The 49-minute film is available for free and its website is offered in 18 languages, including Russian.
The documentary features interviews with high-ranking Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commanders, intelligence officers, and soldiers who participated in operations in the Gaza Strip. Among the interviewees are officers familiar with the procedures for approving airstrikes and other operations. They discuss specific war episodes, decision-making processes, and rules of engagement.
The film's central argument is that Hamas systematically utilized civilian infrastructure and operated among the civilian population. Interviewees describe militants in civilian clothing, weapons stored in residential homes, schools, mosques, and hospitals, and tunnel entrances located within buildings. The creators emphasize that these are firsthand accounts from participants, presented as an alternative to the claims made in "NAZA."
"NAZA: The Real Story" incorporates publicly releasable military footage, photographs, recordings, and other materials. It also addresses the challenges of identifying armed combatants, the coordination processes for strikes, the search for hostages, and the risks associated with delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The project's authors are reserve lieutenant colonel Roi Danino, reserve major and lawyer Ariel Averbuch, and director and editor Hagai Gutman. Danino served over 600 days in reserve with the "Nahal" brigade during the "Swords of Iron" war. Averbuch is a co-founder of the organization Sword of Gideon, which combats antisemitism and engages in international advocacy. Gutman works in the Israeli television and media industry.
"NAZA: The Real Story" was created in direct polemic with Abraham and Shore's "NAZA," which was based on anonymous interviews with Israeli military and intelligence personnel alleging a high level of civilian casualties in Gaza operations. "NAZA" received a Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice Film Festival in September, after which its international distribution commenced.
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