2006年VOA标准英语-Israel Missile Strike Kills 11 Palestinians, In

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
13 June 2006

A Palestinian youth cleans the blood next to the site of an Israeli air strike on a car, after shrapnel hit a nearby house causing injuries, in Gaza City, Tuesday, June 13, 2006  
  
Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip have left at least 11 Palestinians dead and more than 30 others wounded.  Israel's defense¹ minister says Israel will no longer show restraint against militants² in Gaza. 

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Witnesses in Gaza City say a yellow van traveling on a busy highway in northern Gaza was struck about midday by Israeli fire. 

Captain Noa Meir, a spokeswoman for the Israeli Defense Forces, says the operation was targeted at Islamic Jihad militants who were planning on launching Katyusha rockets against targets in Israel. 

"This is actually the third incident in the past two months of terrorists launching the more advanced Katyusha rocket," Meir said. "This rocket has a range of 20 kilometers and has proved deadly in the past."  

A wounded Palestinian boy is treated in the emergency room of the Shifa hospital after he was injured in an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City Tuesday June 13, 2006  
  
Captain Meir says more than 100 small rockets, known as Quassams, have been launched against Israel since last Friday.  Among those killed in the Israeli air strike was a top rocket launcher for Islamic Jihad

Khaled al Batch³, an Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza vowed⁴ revenge.

The Islamic Jihad commander says his group will continue to attack Israel and he condemned⁵ the deaths of civilians⁶ in Tuesday's strike. 
 
Witnesses say a number of people who had gone to assist those hit in the first blast were struck by a second Israeli air strike.  Palestinian officials say at least eight civilians, including two children were killed in the second attack.  Also among those killed were three medical personnel on the scene.  

Israeli officials had suspended large scale air strikes against targets in Gaza following the deaths of eight Palestinians, including seven members of one family, who were killed in an explosion on a beach in the Gaza Strip last Friday. 

But speaking on Israeli radio, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said, because Palestinians had not stopped rocket attacks against Israel, air strikes are being resumed.

Israel's defense minister says restraint has not worked and now Israel will do whatever is necessary to protect its citizens. 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Tuesday's attack, calling it an example of "state terror." 

His comments came just hours after gunmen loyal to Mr. Abbas' Fatah Party attacked the West Bank offices of the Palestinian prime minister and the building housing the Palestinian parliament.  Both institutions are controlled by Hamas. 

Tensions between Hamas and Fatah have accelerated since President Abbas' decision to schedule a referendum asking Palestinians to vote on a proposal that calls for a Palestinian state to exist alongside Israel.

1 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。

2 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。

3 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

4 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

5 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

6 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。