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VOA慢速英语2021--加沙的巴勒斯坦人无处可逃

时间:2021-05-20 02:01来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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As fighting intensified1 this week between Israeli and Palestinian forces, residents of Gaza are once again facing the question: Where can we go to escape the violence?

Casualties grew this week during the worst violence between Israel and the Gaza Strip since a 2014 war. More than 87 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Monday, including 18 children and eight women, Gaza's Health Ministry2 reported. Among the dead were both militants4 and civilians6. More than 500 people have been wounded.

Israeli bombs hit Umm Majed al-Rayyes' apartment building in Gaza City on Wednesday, throwing her from her bed. As walls exploded and windows broke, the 50-year-old gathered her four children and tried to find a place to hide.

"This whole territory is a tiny place. It's a prison. Everywhere you go, you're a target," said al-Rayyes, who said she was able to seek shelter in a neighbor's house. She said the Israeli airstrike came without warning.

Gaza is a small, crowded piece of land with more than 2 million people. There are no air raid warnings or safe houses. Temporary shelters built by the United Nations have been destroyed during years of conflict.

During the past two days, Israeli airstrikes struck three large buildings with important Hamas offices and some businesses. Sometimes the Israeli military fired warning shots, permitting people to make an escape.

Fighter jets also targeted several residential7 buildings without warning, in neighborhoods where Israel said militants lived.

At a Gaza City hospital, one woman said Israeli missiles hit her two-story building on Wednesday. She said the strike killed her 4-year-old grandson and pregnant daughter-in-law.

"They bombed them without any warning. The house had nothing but the kids," she cried at the hospital.

The Israeli government has long accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields. Militants often launch rockets from civilian5 areas and set up command centers inside residential buildings. Yet Israel received heavy criticism for bombing residences during the 2014 war with Hamas.

Gaza residents say they feel nowhere is safe and they cannot leave the area. Since Hamas took control in 2007, Gaza has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade.

Along its borders, Gaza is surrounded by fences, concrete walls, and steel barriers. To the east lies the Mediterranean8 Sea, where Israel restricts Palestinian boats from traveling too far.

Zeyad Khattab is a pharmacist in Gaza City. He fled to the family home in central Gaza where he grew up along with 12 relatives when bombs hit his apartment building.

"There is nowhere to run, there is nowhere to hide," he said. "That terror is impossible to describe."

During the 2008 and 2014 wars, airstrikes shook Khattab's apartment building and broke some windows. But on Wednesday, the building -- which houses around 400 people -- collapsed9.

"There is always this undercurrent of anxiety, but this time is different," he said.

This week's fighting grew out of violence in Jerusalem at the Al-Aqsa Mosque10 and Dome11 of the Rock. Experts have long warned that growing tensions at the site, which is holy to both Muslims and Jews, could lead to wider conflict.

There is growing fear that the latest fighting will turn into a longer war. Missiles from Hamas and other militant3 groups have sent hundreds of thousands of Israelis running to bomb shelters across the country. Some missiles have reached Israeli cities, killing12 at least seven people.

In any other year, the streets of Gaza City would be crowded with Palestinians ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which started Wednesday evening. The holiday is one of the biggest Muslim festivals of the year and marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Markets and restaurants would be full. Families would be enjoying the beaches.

Instead, shops were closed. The city's streets remained nearly empty except for emergency vehicles and Hamas security forces. Bombs exploded in the distance.

Saud Abu Ramadan is an independent journalist in Gaza City. "It's the same atmosphere of 2014," he said.

He was speaking about the 7-week war that killed more than 2,000 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, and destroyed much of Gaza. "Warplanes are buzzing, and people are just trying to keep their heads down."

Al-Rayyes, who fled her falling apartment building in Gaza City, said the latest fighting had brought "so much pain" to the territory. "But thank God the children have been through this before and they're strong," she said.

She then corrected herself. "They're pretending to be strong."

Words in This Story

resident -n. a person who lives or has their home in a place

blockade -n. an act of war in which one country uses ships to stop people or supplies from entering or leaving another country

concrete -n. a hard, strong material that is used for building and made by mixing cement, sand, and broken rocks with water

pharmacist -n. a person who is trained to prepare and give out medicines in a hospital or storeundercurrent -n. a hidden feeling or tendency that is usually different from the one that is easy to see or understand

anxiety -n. fear or nervousness about what might happen

pretend -v. to act as if something is true when it is not true


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 intensified 4b3b31dab91d010ec3f02bff8b189d1a     
v.(使)增强, (使)加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
  • The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 ministry kD5x2     
n.(政府的)部;牧师
参考例句:
  • They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
  • We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。
3 militant 8DZxh     
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。
4 militants 3fa50c1e4338320d8495907fdc5bdbaf     
激进分子,好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来,反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
  • Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此,巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。
5 civilian uqbzl     
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的
参考例句:
  • There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
  • He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
6 civilians 2a8bdc87d05da507ff4534c9c974b785     
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓
参考例句:
  • the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
  • At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后,至少有300名平民下落不明。
7 residential kkrzY3     
adj.提供住宿的;居住的;住宅的
参考例句:
  • The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
  • The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。
8 Mediterranean ezuzT     
adj.地中海的;地中海沿岸的
参考例句:
  • The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
  • Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。
9 collapsed cwWzSG     
adj.倒塌的
参考例句:
  • Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
  • The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。
10 mosque U15y3     
n.清真寺
参考例句:
  • The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
  • Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前,清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。
11 dome 7s2xC     
n.圆屋顶,拱顶
参考例句:
  • The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
  • They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。
12 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
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TAG标签:   VOA英语  慢速英语
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