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　　After days of fighting with Israel, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have called a brief truce¹.
巴勒斯坦和以色列经过几天交战之后呼吁在加沙地带实行短暂停火。
Armed Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip are observing a 24-hour ceasefire. The announcement followed the Palestinians firing of dozens of rockets at Israel since a six-month truce expired on Friday.
巴勒斯坦在加沙地带的武装组织开始实施24小时停火。在这之前，巴勒斯坦在维持了6个月的停火在星期五结束以来，向以色列发射了几十枚火箭弹。
The Islamic militant² group Hamas, that rules Gaza, said the new ceasefire was requested by Egyptian mediators.
统治加沙地带的伊斯兰激进组织哈马斯说，这次新的停火是应埃及调停人的要求而实施的。
Hamas to Consider New Truce if Gaza Blockade Lifted
Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha said the group would be willing to consider a new truce offer if its demands are met. Hamas wants Israel and Egypt to open their border crossings and ease a crippling blockade on Gaza.
哈马斯发言人塔哈说，如果哈马斯的要求能得到满足，他们愿意考虑新的停火建议。哈马斯要求以色列和埃及开放过境点，放松对加沙遏制性的封锁。
Israel had threatened harsh retaliation³ for the rocket attacks, but also said that it prefers to renew the ceasefire.
以色列威胁要对巴勒斯坦的火箭弹袭击进行严厉的报复。但是以色列还说，它更愿意再次实施停火协定。
"Israel wants to see calm again prevail in the south," said government spokesman Mark Regev. But when you have got these ongoing⁴ rocket barrages⁵ it is the opposite of calm. And this situation just cannot continue."
以色列政府的发言人雷格夫说：“以色列希望看到南部再次出现平静。但是如果这些火箭弹袭击现在还在进行，那就和平静背道而驰。这种情况是不能继续下去的。”
Israel Weighs its Options
Israel is reluctant to invade heavily populated Gaza. It pulled out of the territory and dismantled⁶ 21 Jewish settlements there in 2005. It fears high casualties among Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians⁷, and in turn international condemnation⁸.
以色列不愿意进攻人口密集的加沙。以色列在2005年撤出了加沙，拆毁了那里的21座犹太人定居点。以色列担心进攻会导致以色列士兵和巴勒斯坦平民伤亡惨重，以及由此而来的国际社会的谴责。
But Israel is also concerned that the longer it puts off an invasion, the better-equipped for battle Hamas will become.
但是以色列还担心，它越推迟入侵行动，哈马斯的战斗装备就会变得越精良。
The head of Israel's Shin Bet security service told the Cabinet that Hamas now has longer range rockets that can hit more Israeli cities. The desert city of Beersheba, 50 kilometers from Gaza, is now within range. The rockets were smuggled⁹ in through tunnels under the border with Egypt.
以色列国家安全局的负责人对内阁说，哈马斯现在的火箭弹射程更远，能够打击更多以色列城市。距离加沙50公里远的沙漠城市贝尔谢巴现在已经在射程之内。火箭弹是通过和埃及边界的地下隧道偷运进来的。
A major Israeli offensive in Gaza appears inevitable¹⁰ at some point, but if it happens, southern Israel could be bombarded by Hamas.
以色列对加沙地带的攻击似乎是早晚的事，但是如果以色列发动攻击，以色列南部可能受到哈马斯的炮击。