2006年VOA标准英语-Israeli Warplanes Hit Hezbollah Targets in Beir

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
03 August 2006

watch Air Strikes Continue

Lebanese men inspect a destroyed bridge after it was attacked by an Israeli air strike in the northern Lebanese region of Akkar, near the Syrian border,  August 2, 2006  
  
Israel resumed air strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut Thursday. Israel's prime minister says his government is close to accomplishing its goals in Lebanon, and a cease-fire could take effect next week. At least 646 Lebanese and 56 Israelis have died so far in the conflict.

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Israeli war planes carried out strikes on southern Beirut as well as against targets in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, and on roads near the Syrian border Thursday.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel was close to achieving its objective of carving¹ out a six-to-seven kilometer wide security zone in southern Lebanon. He also said he believed the United Nations will vote on a cease-fire next week.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told reporters that she believes Israel and the international community share the same goals in Lebanon.

"The idea is to disarm² Hezbollah and to assist the Lebanese government exercise its sovereignty on the entire Lebanon. This is not a simple task but I believe the international community will stick to its goal," she said.

U.S. officials say differences at the U.N. over how to implement³ a cease-fire and develop an international peacekeeping force are being narrowed. France and some European Union countries have called for an immediate⁴ cease-fire, to be followed by a political deal that would include disarming⁵ Hezbollah before international peacekeepers are deployed⁶ in Lebanon. The United States says no political deal is possible in Lebanon until peacekeepers are sent there first.

Israel says a military inquiry⁷ into the bombing of a building in the Lebanese town of Qana that killed at least 28 civilians⁹ on Sunday indicates Israel's military made a "mistake." A statement says Israel would not have bombed the building if it had known civilians were present. The inquiry also charges that Hezbollah militants¹⁰ use civilians as human shields during their rocket attacks against Israel, and that more than 150 rockets have been launched at Israel from Qana since fighting began three weeks ago.

The New York-based organization Human Rights Watch says its investigation¹¹ of the incident found no evidence of rocket launchers anywhere near the building in which the civilians died on Sunday. Human Rights Watch also says during its current military campaign in Lebanon, Israel has failed to distinguish between civilians and combatants.
 

Ehud Olmert during an interview with The Associated Press at his office in Jerusalem, Aug. 2, 2006  
  
Speaking to journalists, Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he believes Israel's policy towards civilian⁸ casualties in Lebanon is much different that that of Hezbollah's.

"Every time a civilian is killed by an Israeli we consider it a failure and we regret it very much because it has never been our strategy and we do not want to achieve that," he said. "Every time an Israeli civilian is considered by Hezbollah it is considered by them to be a victory."

About 10,000 Israeli ground troops are engaged in heavy fighting with Hezbollah militants inside southern Lebanon. Israeli troops have seized ground near at least ten Lebanese towns and villages in the area. Hezbollah on Thursday continued to launch rockets against northern Israel.

Meanwhile, a large Israeli force of about 50 tanks accompanied by bulldozers pushed about eight kilometers into the Gaza Strip on Thursday taking up position near the Egyptian border. Israeli aircraft also attacked at least four groups of what Israel says were Palestinian gunmen. At least four Palestinians were killed and more than 20 others injured. In a separate incident, an Israeli tank fired on a group of Palestinians, killing¹² a young boy. More than 150 Palestinians have been killed since late June, after Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip to search for an Israeli serviceman captured by Palestinian militants.

1 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

2 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

3 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

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 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

6 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

7 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

8 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

9 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。

10 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。

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

12 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。