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(单词翻译)
By Robert BergerIsrael is threatening to invade the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in response to escalating1 Palestinian rocket attacks. Israel has already stepped up air strikes, killing2 31 Palestinians, about half of them civilians4, since Wednesday. An Israeli civilian3 was also killed Wednesday in a rocket attack. Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau in Jerusalem.
Deputy Defense5 Minister Matan Vilnai says Israel has no other choice but to launch a major military offensive in Gaza.
Vilnai told Army Radio that the more rocket fire intensifies6 and reaches a longer range, the bigger the "holocaust7" that the Palestinians will bring upon themselves. The use of the term "holocaust" outside of the Nazi8 genocide of World War II is rare in Israel, and appeared to underscore the gravity of the situation. Vilnai said Israel is prepared to use all its military might to defend itself.
The sharpening rhetoric9 follows Palestinian rocket attacks on Thursday on the major Israel city of Ashkelon, north of the Gaza Strip. Several Iranian-made Grad rockets slammed into the city, hitting an apartment and near a school. It was the deepest rocket strike ever on Ashkelon, and effectively redraws the frontline of the conflict. Until now, the coastal10 city was largely out of missile range, and most rocket fire was directed at the small town of Sderot near the Gaza border.
The Islamic militant11 group Hamas, which rules Gaza, says it targeted Ashkelon in response to escalating Israeli air strikes which are taking a heavy toll12 on both fighters and civilians.
"So I think Israel tries to make Gaza sink in the ocean of blood and tears and suffering," said Hamas official Ghazi Hamad. "And maybe it tried to impose some collective punishment against [the] Palestinian people."
The Gaza crisis will be high on the agenda when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits here next week. Rice has urged Israel not to invade Gaza, but Israeli officials will tell her they are running out patience.
1 escalating | |
v.(使)逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 );(使)逐步扩大;(使)更高;(使)更大 | |
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2 killing | |
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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3 civilian | |
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的 | |
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4 civilians | |
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓 | |
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5 defense | |
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩 | |
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6 intensifies | |
n.(使)增强, (使)加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.(使)增强, (使)加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 ) | |
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7 holocaust | |
n.大破坏;大屠杀 | |
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8 Nazi | |
n.纳粹分子,adj.纳粹党的,纳粹的 | |
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9 rhetoric | |
n.修辞学,浮夸之言语 | |
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10 coastal | |
adj.海岸的,沿海的,沿岸的 | |
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11 militant | |
adj.激进的,好斗的;n.激进分子,斗士 | |
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12 toll | |
n.过路(桥)费;损失,伤亡人数;v.敲(钟) | |
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