Gaza documentary ‘NAZA’ becomes one of the most watched docs of 2026
The film which Israel is treating as a national security crisis has become one of year’s most watched documentaries. 'NAZA' details “the systems behind Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza” and has been seen by more than 1.5 million people in less than two months.
Award-winning Gaza documentary NAZA by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor is on track to become one of the most-watched documentaries on theatrical release of 2026.
New figures, collated by producers The Guardian and JW Films, reveal that the film has been seen by a worldwide audience of 1,547,033 across 47 territories as of 6 November.
With $13.5 million in international gross, NAZA ranks among the best-performing documentaries internationally of 2026 to date.
Shot in secrecy at night on the rooftops of Tel Aviv during the ongoing Gaza war, NAZA shows “in detail the systems behind Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” according to its official synopsis.
The investigative doc features interviews with 24 Israeli military intelligence officers, soldiers and whistleblowers. They describe how Palestinians are targeted and how strikes are carried out using AI and automated surveillance in military targeting systems - despite Israel being aware that civilians are present in targeted areas. The participants' faces and voices were digitally altered to protect their identities.
The 80-minute hot-button doc builds on reporting between 2023 and 2025 published by the Israeli-Palestinian +972 Magazine, the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, and The Guardian. It left this year's Venice Film Festival with the Special Jury Prize and received a record-breaking 25-minute standing ovation at the festival.
The documentary has performed best in Italy , where it was released by I Wonder on 29 September shortly after its world premiere in Venice. It made history as the third most-watched documentary of all time in Italian cinemas, behind only Fahrenheit 9/11 and The March of the Penguins .
In France, during a 48-hour event release, NAZA attracted an audience of over 82,000 admissions. The film screened in more than 260 theaters nationwide, with nearly 500 screenings over two days. It topped the box office on both days, making it one of the most-watched documentaries in French theaters in 2026.
The doc’s German distributor ImmerGuteFilme has reported 83.355 admissions in the territory to date, with its strongest day to date on Sunday 1 November. This is doubly impressive, as the war in Gaza and the German government’s support of Israel have divided the country and its cultural scene.
Last month, we reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had attacked the makers of NAZA , accusing the film of contributing to “global antisemitic incitement”.
“It’s shocking. We are fighting global antisemitic incitement and when it comes from within us it is intolerable,” Netanyahu said in a video posted on Telegram. “And now two Israeli directors portraying the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) as war criminals receive applause at the Venice festival.”
Netanyahu's comments followed those of Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar, who directly equated criticism of Israel's actions to antisemitism and announced that he would “act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship” of the Israeli directing duo Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.
Netanyahu has called for a criminal investigation into soldiers and officers interviewed in NAZA . He has ordered for the filmmakers to be prosecuted for causing “harm to Israel’s diplomatic and security interests” and asked for attorney general Gali Baharav-Miara, IDF chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, and Shin Bet head David Zini, to “act urgently to uncover the identity of all those who are involved or appear in the libel film”.
As reported by the Guardian , Ricardo Gutiérrez, the general secretary of the European Federation of Journalists, said: “These threats constitute a blatant act of intimidation against journalists who have simply been doing their job, in strict accordance with ethical standards and in the public interest.”
Regarding Netanyahu’s threats, he added: “I am not surprised by this outburst, which confirms that this regime is prepared to do anything to cover up its crimes against humanity and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
After NAZA 's cinematic run, the documentary’s free global streaming release on theguardian.com is planned for early December. The film is included in the shortlist for Best European Documentary at the upcoming European Film Awards.
