Israeli PM says airforce to respond with force if Gaza truce violated

 JERUSALEM, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the Israeli airforce will respond with force if an Egypt-brokered ceasefire deal with Gaza is violated.

"We chose when it will begin and controlled how it ended. If the quiet continues, we'll respond with quiet. If it is violated, we'll respond with force," he said when addressing the pilots who participated in airstrikes last week in the Gaza Strip.

"You'll be able to continue preparing for the next campaign (if the truce¹ is maintained). If it is violated, you'll return to strike ..." he said during a visit to Palmachim, an airbase north of Tel Aviv, which houses helicopter gunship and unmanned drone squadrons that saw intensive action last week, in the company of Defense² Minister Ehud Barak, army chief Benny Gantz and Air Force commander Amir Eshel.

The comments came four days after the ceasefire deal ended a week-long confrontation³ between Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement that controls the Gaza Strip, in which the former struck hundreds of militant⁴ targets throughout Gaza and the latter fired upwards⁵ of a thousand rockets into Israel, some of which were aimed at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for the first time.

"Hamas' weapons stockpiles sustained hard hits in precise strikes," and "Most of the missiles aimed at central Israel were depleted⁶, in addition to thousands of missiles aimed at the South, " he said, according to a statement sent to Xinhua.

Responding to criticism voiced by residents of southern Israeli cities that the military operation was prematurely⁷ cut short, Netanyahu said "there was no reason" to expand it once its goals were achieved.

1 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

4 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

5 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

6 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

7 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句