FRANKFURT: Author Salman Rushdie on Friday (Oct 20) urged a “cessation” in fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, saying that he was filled with “horror” and “foreboding”.
Hamas carried out a deadly attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct 7, killing at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burned to death, according to Israeli officials.
In response, Israel launched a relentless bombing campaign on Gaza. At least 3,785 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed, according to the latest toll from the Hamas-run health ministry.
Making a rare public appearance since a near-fatal stabbing attack in the United States last year, Rushdie said he was “filled with horror” at the escalating conflict.
“I am filled with horror about the attack by Hamas,” he told a press conference at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s biggest publishing trade event.
“I’m filled with foreboding about what (Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu might do in return. I just hope that there can be a cessation in hostilities at the earliest point.”
Rushdie lost sight in one eye after the attack by a knife-wielding assailant who jumped on stage at an arts event in New York state in August 2022.
The author, a naturalised American based in New York, has faced death threats since his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses was declared blasphemous by Iran’s supreme leader.
Source: CNA
