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Israel launched heavy airstrikes Monday aimed at Hamas targets, ignoring international efforts to end the violence that has killed hundreds of civilians¹.

Israeli military said it destroyed 15 kilometers of tunnels and the homes of nine Hamas commanders. The attacks on Monday also killed a top leader of the Islamic Jihad militant² group in Gaza whom the military blamed for some of the thousands of rocket attacks launched at Israel in recent days.

The war started last Monday, when Hamas militants³ fired rockets at Jerusalem after hundreds of Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli troops during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. At the same time, Israel was planning to remove Palestinian families from an east Jerusalem neighborhood that it captured after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

The Israeli military said Hamas and other armed groups had fired more than 3,000 rockets from Gaza over the past week. Israel's missile defense⁴ system intercepted⁶ most of them, it said.

In return, the Israeli military has launched hundreds of airstrikes against targets in Gaza. The latest strikes came a day after Israel's weekend attack, which killed 42 people and destroyed three buildings.

The Gaza Health Ministry⁷ said at least 200 Palestinians have been killed in the airstrikes so far, including 58 children and 34 women. Another 1,300 are reportedly wounded.

In Israel, ten people have been killed, including two children. Police said an Israeli man also died in hospital on Monday after being attacked and injured in Lod last week after clashes broke out in mixed Jewish-Arab communities in Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel's attacks were at "full-force" and would "take time." Israel, he said, "wants to levy⁸ a heavy price" on the Hamas militant group.

A former Israeli air division commander said on Monday, "the IDF (Israeli military) can go with this forever. And they (Hamas) can go on with their rockets, sadly, also for a very long time. But the price they are paying is rising higher and higher."

Hamas' top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said the group has been contacted by the United Nations, Russia, Egypt and Qatar as part of cease-fire efforts. He blamed the war on Israel's actions in Jerusalem. He said the group "will not accept a solution that is not up to the sacrifices of the Palestinian people."

International efforts to end the war

In his first comments since the start of the war, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said his government is working to "urgently" end the violence. Egypt, which borders Gaza and Israel, has played a central role in negotiating cease-fires after earlier rounds of fighting.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry said the country is working with international partners to reach a truce⁹. He said he hopes the United States will be part of such an effort to avoid war and destruction in the area. He also called for Israel's government to reduce tensions in Jerusalem and stop efforts to remove Palestinians from east Jerusalem.

Speaking to reporters during a trip to Denmark, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. would support any initiative to stop the fighting. He added, "It is up to the parties to make clear that they want to pursue a cease-fire."

The Biden administration has refused so far to criticize Israel's part in the fighting or send a top-level diplomat¹⁰ to the region. But some members of Biden's Democratic Party have asked the U.S. to do more to stop the conflicts.

Rep. Adam Schiff is the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee. He told CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday, "I think the administration needs to push harder on Israel and the Palestinian Authority to stop the violence, bring about a cease-fire, end these hostilities¹¹, and get back to a process of trying to resolve this long-standing conflict."

And a group of 29 Democratic senators also called "for an immediate¹² ceasefire agreement in Israel and the Palestinian territories to prevent further loss of life and further escalation¹³ of violence."

From Moscow, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said Russia is "extremely concerned" about the destruction in Gaza. He added Russia is working with Middle East countries, the European Union and the U.S. to "stop the exchange of strikes."

Words in This Story

intercept⁵ – v. to stop and catch something before it gets there

levy – v. to demand and collect

pursue – v. to try to get or do something

resolve – v. to find an answer or solution

escalation – n. becoming or making something worse or severe

1 civilians   

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。

2 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。

3 militants   

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。

4 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。

5 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。

6 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

7 ministry   

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。

8 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

9 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。

10 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

11 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句