2006年VOA标准英语-Israel Escalates Military Campaign Against Leba

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
13 July 2006

Israel struck deep inside Lebanon Thursday, targeting airports, military airbases and Hezbollah positions. More than 50 Lebanese civilians¹ have been killed in the attacks, while at least one Israeli has died in Hezbollah rocket attacks against Israel, one day after Hezbollah guerrillas attacked Israeli troops killing² eight and capturing two others.

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Lebanese citizens look for victims as an excavator removes rubble³ from site where Israeli forces targeted a house in the village of Dweir   
  
[Israel late Thursday attacked Beirut's international airport for the second time. Television footage showed flames rising from fuel tanks hit by the Israeli airstrikes.]

Tensions escalated⁴ as at least one Katyusha rocket landed in Israel's third largest city, Haifa. It was the first time rockets have hit Haifa, which is about 50 kilometers from the Lebanese border. No casualties were reported in the incident.

Senior Israeli military and political leaders all say they will no longer tolerate a Hezbollah presence in south Lebanon. Air Force General Ido Nehushtan, a member of the Israeli Defense⁵ Forces General Staff met with reporters late Thursday.

Click here to see map of conflict

"The objectives have been studied very clearly," said General Nehushtan. "This situation in which a very lethal⁶ terrorist organization, and Hezbollah is a very lethal and capable terrorist organization, well, this situation in which it operates from a sovereign country, our neighbor, freely can no longer be tolerated. We have to address that. This is the objective."

 
Lebanese carry away the body of a victim, found under rubble, after Israeli warplanes targeted a house in the village of Zebqin
  
General Nehushtan says Israelis are prepared to take as long as they need to achieve their objectives.

"We have patience, and we are resolved, and we have to provide security for our citizens, and we are willing to take as long as it takes," he said.

Israeli officials say they expect Lebanon to fulfill⁷ U.N. Security Council resolutions and move the Lebanese army into territory previously⁸ occupied by Hezbollah guerrillas, something the Lebanese government has so far refused to do. Gideon Meir, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry⁹ says, under no condition will Israel negotiate with Hezbollah to end the crisis.

"I repeat the policy, which was expressed by Israel's prime minister, Israel will not negotiate, either directly or indirectly¹⁰, with any group that has kidnapped Israeli soldiers," he said.

Armed Palestinian man stands beneath Foreign Ministry building in Gaza City after early morning Israeli airstrike, Thursday   
  
Even as they intensified¹¹ attacks against targets in Lebanon, Israeli military authorities authorized¹² further incursions in the Gaza Strip, as part of a two-week operation to free a captured Israeli serviceman, and stop the firing of homemade Qassam rockets by Palestinian militants¹⁴ into Israel.

An Israeli air strike destroyed the offices of the Palestinian foreign minister, Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas militant¹³. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the international community to intervene on Thursday, saying Israel's Lebanon offensive is raising fears of a new regional war in the Middle East.

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 killing   

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。

3 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

4 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

5 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。

6 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

7 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 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。

10 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

11 intensified   

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》

12 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

13 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。

14 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。