6 Israeli Soldiers, 6 Palestinians Killed in Gaza Battles

 

Ross Dunn

Six Israeli soldiers and six Palestinians have been killed in a day of fierce fighting in Gaza City. Israeli troop reinforcements have been sent to the area to restore security and retrieve¹ the body parts of the soldiers killed in a roadside bomb blast. Amid the fighting in Gaza, a senior Israeli official said there is no choice but to evacuate² all Jewish settlers from the territory.

The Israeli soldiers were killed during an operation on Tuesday to find and destroy factories making rockets and other weapons in a neighborhood of Gaza City.

A roadside bomb exploded as their explosives-laded armored vehicle passed by. The militant³ group Hamas, which is on the State Department's list of terrorist organizations, claimed responsibility for the blast, saying it had used an anti-tank missile to force the vehicle into an area where it had previously⁴ planted bombs.

Hamas claims to have filmed the deadly ambush⁵, which is believed to have accounted for the highest death toll⁶ of Israeli soldiers in a single operation in nearly 18 months. Israeli troop reinforcements were sent to the area and conducted house-to-house searches for the remains⁷ of the soldiers after Hamas said it was holding on to the body parts.

At least five Palestinians were reported killed as battles raged between soldiers and Palestinian gunmen throughout the day. More than 100 others were wounded.

A sixth Palestinian, reportedly a teenage boy, was killed and several others wounded when after the Israeli military helicopter fired missiles at a car near the battle scene.

Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, who says he wants to remove all Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip, is due to convene⁸ a meeting of his security Cabinet late Tuesday to decide on possible further military action.

Amid the fighting, Israel's Deputy Premier⁹, Ehud Olmert, told a conference of visiting mayors in Jerusalem that all settlers will have to be evacuated¹⁰ from Gaza.

"There is no way that we can keep them [the settlers] living in a relaxed atmosphere without terror at any time in the future," he said. "They are destined¹¹ to leave in this atmosphere of terror and almost endless confrontation¹²."

Mr. Olmert says he is convinced that Prime Minister Sharon will press ahead with the idea despite the rejection¹³ of his disengagement plan in a referendum of the ruling Likud Party, one-week ago.

"Prime Minister Sharon is a very courageous¹⁴ guy and I am sure that he will push through, in spite of the difficulties, in spite of the resistance, in spite of the certain opposition¹⁵, because the majority of people in Israel, by the way, will support it."

Mr. Olmert comments follow those of the Israeli Defense¹⁶ Minister, Shaul Mofaz, who this week described the settlements in the Gaza Strip as an historical mistake.

Mr. Mofaz predicted that with or without a peace agreement with the Palestinians there would no longer be any settlers living in the territory within five years.
注释:
reinforcements [7ri:in5fC:smEnt] n. 援军
retrieve [ri5tri:v] v. 找回
amid [E5mid] prep. 在……中
evacuate [i5vAkjueit] v. 疏散，撤出
explosives-laded 装载爆炸物的
Hamas 哈马斯，（巴勒斯坦伊斯兰抵抗运动）
anti-tank adj. 反坦克的
ambush [5AmbuF] n. 埋伏
raged [reidV] v. （战争）猛烈进行
convene [kEn5vi:n] v. 召集
Jerusalem [dVe5ru:sElEm] n. 耶路撒冷（巴勒斯坦著名古城）
destine to [5destin] v. 注定
confrontation [7kCnfrQn5teiFEn] n. 对抗
convinced [kEn5vinst] adj. 确信的
referendum [7refE5rendEm] n. 公民投票
push through 完成

 

1 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

2 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

3 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

6 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。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

9 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

10 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

11 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

12 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

13 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

14 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 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。