2006年VOA标准英语-South Lebanon in Lockdown After Israeli Warning

By Challiss McDonough
Tyre, Lebanon
08 August 2006

Vehicle traffic in southern Lebanon has come to a virtual standstill after the Israeli military warned residents that every single car on the road will be considered a target. Ambulances are no longer leaving the southern port city of Tyre to evacuate¹ wounded people from surrounding villages.  The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has visited southern Lebanon and is warning both sides in the conflict that international law requires them to protect civilian² lives.

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A Lebanese Red Cross rescuer helps a Lebanese little girl get off a ICRC truck in the town of Marjayoun, southern Lebanon

The Israeli military dropped leaflets warning residents of all of southern Lebanon to stay off the roads. This is part of what they said:

LEBANON RESIDENT READING LEAFLET:  "Therefore, every car of any type that is moving south of the Litani River will be struck since it will be considered suspect, suspect in the movement of rockets, munitions³ and terrorists.  You are hereby instructed and [have] been notified that your movement in any vehicle will be a serious threat to your life."

That warning has been taken very seriously.  The streets are all, but abandoned.

Lebanese Red Cross and Civil Defense⁴ ambulances are still moving around to some extent within the city of Tyre, but they are not leaving town.  Medics said they were in telephone contact with wounded people trapped under a bombed building in a nearby village but could not reach them.

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jakob Kellenberger, said warning people to stay inside does not absolve⁵ Israel of its responsibilities to differentiate⁶ between civilian and military targets.

"You are, by letting down leaflets, you get not rid of your responsibilities under international humanitarian⁷ law," he said.  "So if you are distributing leaflets, that does not mean you are not bound anymore by the pertinent⁸ rules of international humanitarian law."

In a sometimes raucous⁹ news conference in Tyre, a paramedic from the local rescue squad¹⁰ practically pleaded with the ICRC chief for help in convincing the Israelis to let ambulances move freely.

Kellenberger said he would be reminding both sides in the conflict of what he called the "basic rules of international humanitarian law, especially the rules concerning the conduct of hostilities¹¹."

"That there is a distinction between civilians¹² and combatants.  It is a distinction between civilian objects and military objectives. It's a rule of precautionary measures that must be taken by both sides, by those that attack and by those who are being attacked," he added.  "And it is a principle of proportionality. And you can be sure that I have already discussed this issue at one place, and I will certainly discuss this issue at the right places."

To get to Tyre, the ICRC president had to walk across the Litani River balancing on a tree trunk.  The last bridge over the river was cut by an Israeli airstrike on Monday, and south Lebanon has been essentially¹³ cut off from the rest of the country since then.

But Kellenberger said his first priority is reaching the surrounding villages that are even more isolated¹⁴ and more besieged¹⁵ than Tyre.

"In terms of priority, for me, by far the largest priority is to have access as quickly as possible in the south of Lebanon to all places where we have not yet had access.  Because people can't wait," he explained.

He said "access" means the evacuation of civilians, especially the wounded, from the conflict zone, as well as getting food, water and medical supplies to the isolated villages.  He said the ICRC was able to evacuate about 200 civilians from two villages near the border on Tuesday, but has been unable to get to most of the rest of the border region.

He said the current estimate is that 100,000 people are still trapped in southern Lebanon. 

The Red Cross president has already met with Lebanese officials and travels next to Israel.  

1 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。

2 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。

3 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

4 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。

5 absolve   

v.赦免，解除（责任等）

参考例句：

• I absolve you,on the ground of invincible ignorance.鉴于你不可救药的无知，我原谅你。
• They agree to absolve you from your obligation.他们同意免除你的责任。

6 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。

7 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。

8 pertinent   

adj.恰当的；贴切的；中肯的；有关的；相干的

参考例句：

• The expert made some pertinent comments on the scheme.那专家对规划提出了一些中肯的意见。
• These should guide him to pertinent questions for further study.这些将有助于他进一步研究有关问题。

9 raucous   

adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的

参考例句：

• I heard sounds of raucous laughter upstairs.我听见楼上传来沙哑的笑声。
• They heard a bottle being smashed,then more raucous laughter.他们听见酒瓶摔碎的声音，然后是一阵更喧闹的笑声。

10 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

11 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

12 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。

13 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

14 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

15 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。