Israel Watch: Research Digest

Date saved: 2026-10-25 03:01 (PDT)

Sources: AP News, Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, NBC News, TRT World, The Daily Star, Gulf Times, Sharjah24, Times of Israel, ILTV

Key findings

NAZA documentary examines AI-driven targeting in Gaza, wins Venice Special Jury Prize

TRT World / Epoch Arc (October 20, 2026): The documentary NAZA, made by Oscar-winning filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor over three years, premiered at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize after a reported 25-minute standing ovation. The film features 24 Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers, their faces and voices disguised, describing what they say happened behind closed doors in Gaza. The filmmakers say they interviewed more than 100 sources over three years, including senior-ranking commanders involved in authorizing the strikes under discussion. The combined figures across targets, they allege, exceeded the entire population of Gaza. The Israeli military rejects the claims outright and calls the film a misrepresented and manipulative depiction of reality. The film examines how Israel used AI systems including Lavender, which used a points system to determine who would most likely be a target, and Daddy, which alerted users when targets went home at night so they could be killed while sleeping. (Source)

Israeli military rejects NAZA film's claim it killed Gazans with AI-assisted targeting

Times of Israel via YouTube (September 28, 2026): The Israeli military has rejected the claims in the NAZA documentary, with the IDF spokesperson saying the material made public presents a series of serious and false allegations regarding the IDF and its personnel. Israeli politicians have assailed the filmmakers, and the Times of Israel's military correspondent reviewed the film and criticized what he described as a lack of journalistic practices. The film presents itself as a documentary but the Times of Israel says it is a narrative film that does not provide independent verification for the testimonies made. The film's directors held a screening in Tel Aviv for local journalists on October 28. (Source)

Israel begins ground raids in southern Lebanon after intense airstrikes on Hezbollah

The Daily Star / Gulf Times (October 23, 2026): Israeli ground forces began raids into southern Lebanon after days of intense strikes on Hezbollah strongholds across Lebanon, transforming nearly a year of cross-border exchanges with the Iran-backed militants into full-blown war. Israeli forces said they carried out limited, localized, targeted operations in Lebanon, though the scope of the operations was not immediately clear. The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said it did not amount to a ground incursion, and Hezbollah denied any troops had crossed the border. A Lebanese army source told AFP the force had not observed any penetration by Israeli enemy forces into Lebanese territory. Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed more than 1,110 people since September 23, according to the Lebanese health ministry, and forced up to a million people to flee their homes. (Source)

Netanyahu vows biggest West Bank operation since Six-Day War after Hebron shooting

Foreign Policy / NBC News (October 23, 2026): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to carry out an extensive military operation in the West Bank, calling it the biggest operation since the Six-Day War in 1967, after two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on an Israeli military checkpoint near Hebron on October 23, killing two Israeli soldiers and wounding three others. Israeli forces said the militants were linked to Hamas, which praised the attack. Netanyahu ordered a full siege on Hebron and the complete closure of the West Bank, saying "we will act to destroy this place, to change it completely." He vowed to bolster Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law. Defense Minister Israel Katz suggested there would be a sweeping offensive in Hebron, comparing it to Israel's deadly assault in Gaza and its operations in Lebanon. The incident comes days before the October 28 election, which is viewed as a referendum on Netanyahu's leadership. (Source)

Israeli election approaches as Netanyahu campaigns on security and settlements

AP News (October 24, 2026): Israelis are voting on October 28 in what has been described as the most consequential election in the country's history, a referendum on Netanyahu's leadership including his handling of the wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. To win, Netanyahu will likely need the support of the hard right, including voters who want to see Israel annex the West Bank outright. Arab political parties have asked the Supreme Court to ban partisan election observers from carrying guns at polling stations, following announcements by Jewish parties led by Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that they planned to send about 2,000 election observers to Arab neighborhoods. Israelis held a final large rally against Netanyahu ahead of the election. (Source)

Israel strikes Gaza, killing at least 65 Palestinians overnight including in school

Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 65 Palestinians overnight, including in a school sheltering displaced families, as Israeli tanks advanced in areas of Khan Younis in the south of the enclave. Israeli tanks carried out a raid on several areas in eastern and central Khan Younis before partially retreating, leaving at least 40 people killed and dozens wounded. In Gaza City, at least 22 Palestinians were killed. One Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City killed 17 people, and another hit the Al-Amal Orphan Society, which also houses displaced persons, killing at least five others. Since October 7, Israel's military offensive has killed at least 41,825 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians. (Gulf Times, October 2026) (Source)

More than 1,500 Palestinians killed in Gaza since October 2025 ceasefire

AP News (October 23, 2026): More than 1,500 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by the Israeli military since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began in October 2025, according to the territory's health ministry. Strikes by Israel's army killed three people on October 23 in southern Gaza and Gaza City, according to local health officials. Israel's military said it targeted a Hamas militant in the first strike and did not immediately comment on the second strike that killed two people in Gaza City. (Source)

Netanyahu says Israel must prepare alternative economy to circumvent growing sanctions

Sharjah24 / AFP (October 24, 2026): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel may need to develop an alternative digital economy to circumvent rising international sanctions, acknowledging pressure from key ally the United States. "You have to understand that there could be sanctions, including banking sanctions," Netanyahu said on Israel's Channel 10 on October 24. When asked if he was speaking about blockchain, Netanyahu said absolutely. His remarks came after Britain and several other countries imposed sanctions targeting goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank in response to a wave of settler attacks on Palestinians and settlement construction approved by his government. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu now admits that if his government is reelected, American security aid will come to an end and Israel will face sanctions that would devastate the economy. (Source)

UN says 160 Israeli settler attacks recorded in first two weeks of October

NBC News / The Daily Star (October 23, 2026): According to the United Nations, at least 160 Israeli settler attacks linked to the olive harvesting season were recorded in the first two weeks of October alone, with many of those attacks carried out under the protection of, or with the participation of, Israeli forces. Netanyahu's government has backed settler expansion in the West Bank despite international condemnation. The UN also said that Lebanon faces a terrible crisis, with hundreds of thousands of people left destitute or displaced by Israeli air strikes. The head of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, arrived in Lebanon and warned of the scale of the displacement. (Source)

Israel strikes southern Lebanon, killing 11 and injuring five

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed 11 and injured five, according to Israeli military statements urging evacuation in the area. The strikes came as Hezbollah and other groups launched rockets, drones, and some missiles at Israel over the same period, causing some injuries but no deaths. Iran has said Nasrallah's killing would bring about Israel's destruction, though the foreign ministry said Tehran would not deploy any fighters to confront Israel. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for a ceasefire based on a recent US-French proposal, urging an end to the Israeli aggression against Lebanon. (Gulf Times / AP News, October 2026) (Source)

The NAZA documentary is the most consequential cultural event around Israel's wars this week because it puts on screen what human rights organizations and journalists have documented for years: that Israel's military used AI systems including Lavender and Daddy to select targets and assess expected civilian casualties in Gaza, and that Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers describe a process in which the military accepted large numbers of civilian deaths as a cost of striking suspected militants. The film, made over three years by Oscar-winning filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, features 24 disguised Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers describing what they say happened behind closed doors. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival, earned a reported 25-minute standing ovation, and won the Special Jury Prize. The Israeli military rejects the claims outright and has called the film a misrepresented and manipulative depiction of reality.

The military operations are escalating on multiple fronts. Israel began ground raids into southern Lebanon after days of intense strikes on Hezbollah strongholds, and Netanyahu vowed an extensive military operation in the West Bank following a shooting that killed two Israeli soldiers near Hebron. Netanyahu ordered a full siege on Hebron and the complete closure of the West Bank, saying "we will act to destroy this place, to change it completely." The operation is being framed as the biggest in the West Bank since the Six-Day War in 1967. In Gaza, Israeli strikes killed at least 65 Palestinians overnight, including in a school sheltering displaced families, and the Gaza health ministry says more than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed since the October 2025 ceasefire began.

The political context is the Israeli election on October 28, and Netanyahu is campaigning on security. He is promising to bolster Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law, and he has acknowledged that his government may face growing sanctions, including banking sanctions, from key ally the United States and other countries. Britain and several other countries have imposed sanctions targeting goods from Israeli settlements in response to a wave of settler attacks on Palestinians. The throughline is that the military operations, the documentary about how those operations are planned, and the political survival of the man ordering them are all connected, and the election is a referendum on whether Israelis want more of the same.

What to watch next: the West Bank operation in Hebron and whether it expands, the Israeli election results on October 28, the response to the NAZA documentary inside Israel and internationally, and whether settlement sanctions expand.