VOA标准英语2009年-As Fighting in Gaza Stops, UN Intensifies Aid O

As Israeli troops begin pulling out of the Gaza Strip, following their 22-day offensive against Hamas militants¹, the United Nations is intensifying² its efforts to deal with the humanitarian³ crisis left in its wake.
　
A Palestinian family sit next to their destroyed house after the Israeli army operation in Rafah refugee camp, 19 Jan 2009

Gazans were already suffering from the effects of a 19-month long Israeli blockade that hindered supplies reaching the population before hostilities⁴ erupted last month. But the situation is significantly worse after more than three weeks of an Israeli air and land offensive that caused extensive damage to Gaza's infrastructure⁵ and slowed the distribution of aid.

Israeli officials say U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is in the region, will go to Gaza Tuesday. U.N. officials would not confirm the visit, but if he does go, there is much for him to see. In addition to the devastation⁶ caused to Palestinian homes, businesses, hospitals and other structures, the United Nations says 50 of its own facilities have been damaged.

And then there is the human toll⁷. The Palestinian Ministry⁸ of Health reports 1,314 Palestinians were killed during the conflict, including more than 400 children. More than 5,000 people were injured, nearly 2,000 of them children. While the United Nations says about 35,000 displaced persons fill their shelters.

U.N. Palestinian refugee agency director John Ging said from Gaza now that the fighting has stopped people are trying to come to terms with what has happened.

"I would say the pervasive⁹ sense here among the population is one of overwhelming grief," said John Ging. "So many families have been destroyed in so many ways."

Ging said that while there is relief the fighting has stopped, recovery will not be easy. He said the challenge facing his agency is daunting¹⁰.

"The aid operation is now thankfully in full swing in terms of distribution of what we have here," he said. "The distribution centers that had been closed due to the fighting in areas such as Zeitun and Beit Hanoun, they have now resumed operation as are all of the health centers throughout the Gaza Strip."

As the United Nations tries to get its operations back on track, the secretary-general said he is dispatching a high-level humanitarian and early recovery assessment¹¹ mission to Gaza this week and hopes to issue an international appeal for humanitarian assistance within 10 days.

U.N. Humanitarian chief John Holmes said that appeal would likely be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. He added that overall reconstruction¹² costs would likely be in the billions.

The conflict was not without cost to Israel. Three civilians¹³ were killed in Hamas rocket attacks in southern Israel. Nine soldiers were also killed, four of them in a friendly-fire incident.

1 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。

2 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 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。

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

8 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。

9 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

10 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

11 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

12 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

13 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。