Israeli author David Grossman brands Gaza war a 'genocide'

Israeli writer David Grossman has proclaimed the assault on the Gaza Strip a "genocide", adding to a growing chorus of condemnation of the war.

In an interview published on Friday in the Italian daily La Repubblica, Grossman said the bloodshed in Gaza broke his "heart".

"For years I refused to use the term 'genocide'. But now I can't help but use it, after what I read in the newspapers, after the images I saw and after talking to people who were there," he said.

"I want to speak as someone who has done everything possible to avoid calling Israel a genocidal state - and now, with immense pain and a broken heart, I have to face what is happening before my eyes. 'Genocide'. It's an avalanche word: once you say it, it only gets bigger, like an avalanche. And it brings even more destruction and suffering."

Asked what he thought when he read the death toll in Gaza, he replied: "I feel bad".

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