VOA新闻杂志2023--Gaza Aid Halted in Egypt as Israeli Air Strikes Continue

Gaza Aid Halted in Egypt as Israeli Air Strikes Continue

Emergency aid for Gaza was being held up at a border crossing in Egypt Monday as Israel continued to launch air strikes into the Palestinian-ruled territory.

Egyptian officials said Israel has not cooperated in recent days with efforts to get large aid shipments into Gaza from a crossing in Rafah, Egypt.

On Friday, Israel began ordering Palestinians to leave Gaza City and surrounding areas in the north, telling them to head to the south. Israeli officials say the order was issued ahead of a planned military ground campaign against forces of Palestinian ruler Hamas.

Hamas militants¹ have built major military bases in the north. Israel's expected ground offensive there is expected to center on killing² Hamas leaders, recovering captives, and destroying the group's military equipment, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

More than a million people had already fled their homes in northern Gaza in preparation for a ground invasion.

Israel has continued to attack positions in Gaza after Hamas launched a major military operation into southern Israel on October 7. Israeli airstrikes have destroyed whole neighborhoods as Palestinian militants continued firing rockets into Israel.

Israeli officials say more than 1,400 Israelis – including many civilians³ – have died in the conflict. Health ministry⁴ officials in Gaza say at least 2,750 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 injured since the Hamas attacks began.

Israel controls the other two crossing points into Gaza. But it has declared a "complete siege" of the coastal⁵ Palestinian territory. This means Israel has cut off food, water, fuel and electricity supplies to the area.

Gaza has been under a joint⁶ Israeli-Egyptian blockade ever since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. The blockade closely controls movements of goods and people into Gaza.

Mediators have pressed in recent days for a cease-fire that would permit the waiting aid to enter, as well as give foreigners a chance to leave Gaza.

The AP reported Egypt's foreign minister as saying Israel "has not taken a position to open the crossing from the Gaza side." The Israeli government did not immediately answer a request from AP for comment.

In Gaza, Palestinians crowded hospitals and schools Monday seeking shelter as food, water and medicine remained in short supply.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering in U.N. centers are getting less than 1 liter of water per day, the AP reported. Hospitals warned of operations nearing collapse⁸ because of power and fuel shortages.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was concerned about disease spread linked to mass displacements⁹ and poor water quality. Four hospitals in northern Gaza are no longer operating and 21 had received Israeli orders to close. Many doctors have so far refused, saying it would mean death for critically ill patients and people receiving breathing assistance.

Words in This Story

siege – n. a military operation in which enemy forces surround an area and cut off necessary supplies

mediator⁷ –n. a person who works with opposing sides to reach an agreement or ease a dispute

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 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 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。

4 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。

5 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

8 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

9 displacements   

n.取代( displacement的名词复数 )；替代；移位；免职

参考例句：

• The laws of physics are symmetrical for translational displacements. 物理定律对平移是对称的。 来自辞典例句
• We encounter only displacements of the first type. 我们只遇到第一类的驱替。 来自辞典例句