More than 300 prominent French authors have united in a forceful demand to recognise Israel’s assault on Gaza as genocide, insisting that euphemisms like "atrocities" or "violence" no longer suffice. In a letter published in Libération, they argue that refusing to name the crime accurately is itself an act of complicity.

The writers urge immediate sanctions against Israel, a permanent ceasefire, justice for Palestinians, the release of Israeli captives, and an end to the arbitrary detention of thousands of Palestinian prisoners. They stress that the ongoing slaughter must be confronted with moral clarity "genocide" is not rhetoric but reality.

Since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, the letter states, over 3,800 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 11,000 wounded. The death toll since October 2023 now stands at 53,977, with 122,966 injured figures that expose the scale of systematic annihilation.

The signatories also highlight the targeting of Palestinian writers and journalists as an assault on collective memory. "To kill the witnesses is to erase the truth," they warn, framing Israel’s war as both a physical and cultural obliteration.

For 19 months, Gaza’s civilians have endured relentless bombardment, mass displacement, and the wholesale destruction of homes, hospitals, and infrastructure. The authors assert that global silence has enabled this catastrophe and that words, wielded honestly, remain a crucial act of resistance.