VOA新闻杂志2023--Deal Reached to Extend Cease-fire in Israel-Hamas War

Deal Reached to Extend Cease-fire in Israel-Hamas War

Negotiators have reached a deal to extend a cease-fire between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza.

A Qatari official announced Monday on the social media service X the agreement would continue an existing truce¹ for another two days. Qatar and Egypt have led the negotiations² surrounding the ongoing³ conflict.

The new deal came on the final day of a four-day ceasefire. Negotiators said they were also preparing for new exchanges of hostages and prisoners.

Israel had no immediate⁴ comment on the new truce. But Israeli officials had said the country would be open to extending the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. Hamas confirmed it had agreed to a two-day cease-fire extension.

Hamas freed 17 more hostages on Sunday – 14 Israelis and three Thais – in a third exchange under the earlier four-day truce. Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners in the latest exchange.

About 240 hostages were captured by Hamas in its October 7 attack in southern Israel that started the war. So far, 62 hostages have been released. One was freed by Israeli forces and two were found dead inside Gaza. At least 117 Palestinians were freed under the latest truce.

An Israeli government spokesperson said the total number of hostages still held in Gaza as of Monday was 184. This included 14 foreigners and 80 Israelis with dual⁵ nationality.

Last week's cease-fire agreement – which was set to end Monday night – brought the first halt in fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry⁶ in Gaza says more than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, many of them women and children. The ministry does not differentiate⁷ between civilians⁸ and military-force deaths.

Israeli officials have said about 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the first attacks by Hamas. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israel's ground offensive in Gaza.

An Egyptian official told Reuters news agency the new truce would permit the release of about 20 Israeli hostages in exchange for 60 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, told reporters he hopes a truce extension will permit the international community to work on a lasting⁹ political solution.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the country planned to push ahead with the war at the end of the cease-fires.

Wide areas of Hamas-ruled Gaza have been destroyed by Israeli air strikes and bombings. The war also led to a humanitarian¹⁰ crisis because of shortages of food, fuel, water and medicine.

The latest truce did lead to some increased shipments of fuel and supplies into Gaza. But aid groups say much more is needed to help the immediate needs of the 2.3 million Palestinians there.

Words in This Story

dual – adj. having two parts

1 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

6 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。

7 differentiate   

vi.(between)区分；vt.区别；使不同

参考例句：

• You can differentiate between the houses by the shape of their chimneys.你可以凭借烟囱形状的不同来区分这两幢房子。
• He never learned to differentiate between good and evil.他从未学会分辨善恶。

8 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。

9 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

10 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。