VOA新闻杂志2023--Gaza Hospital Explosion Limits Biden Visit to Israel, Middle East

Gaza Hospital Explosion Limits Biden Visit to Israel, Middle East

U.S. President Joe Biden visited Israel on Wednesday after the October 7 attack by the militant¹ group Hamas that killed more than 1,400 people.

In addition to talks with Israeli leaders, Biden had planned to visit Jordan. But, that part of his plan was canceled after an explosion killed hundreds of people at a hospital in Gaza.

Since the attack by Hamas on civilians² earlier this month, Israel has answered with air strikes and other attacks.

Hamas fighters said Israel was to blame for the blast that they said killed about 500 people. Israel's defense³ force responded, saying the explosion came from an off-target rocket fired by the Islamic Jihad militant group.

Before the explosion, Biden was supposed to speak with King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss humanitarian⁴ aid for Gazans.

Israel has promised a full ground invasion of Gaza and asked that Palestinians living in the northern part of the territory evacuate⁵ to the south. About 600,000 people so far have followed the order.

About 3,000 Palestinians have died during Israel's operations, the Gaza Health Ministry⁶ said.

Biden said he was given information from U.S. military experts that made him believe the hospital explosion was not from an Israeli weapon. While in Israel, he said he was sad to see what happened to the hospital, but "it appears it was done by the other team, not you."

Islamic Jihad says it was not responsible for the explosion.

Biden said he understands that many people watching the conflict from afar might not believe him.

He told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that "Americans are grieving," and "worried" about how difficult it will be for Israel to respond to the attack.

The Biden administration said Wednesday that Biden spoke⁷ with King Abdullah II and chose to postpone⁸ his travel to Jordan.

As Biden was in Israel, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a humanitarian cease-fire that would permit Hamas to release Israeli hostages. In addition, the U.N. would like Israel to re-open its borders with Gaza to permit food and water to enter.

The U.S. president said he was concerned that food and other aid would not reach the Palestinian people who need it the most.

"If Hamas diverts or steals the assistance, they will have demonstrated once again that they have no concern for the welfare of the Palestinian people," Biden said.

He said the U.S. approved $100 million in aid if it could be delivered to the neediest people.

Netanyahu said Biden's visit was "deeply moving." Biden said the U.S. would continue to support Israel but also work "to prevent more tragedy to innocent civilians."

UN Concerns

The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations is Riyad Mansour. He said the meeting with Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian leaders would only happen if Biden were to negotiate a cease-fire.

Israel is being criticized for cutting off electricity and restricting entry to Gaza. European Council President Charles Michel called Israel's tactic⁹ "not in line with international law."

Words in This Story

evacuate –v. to leave or be moved from an area because of a threat or because it is unsafe

grieve –v. the show great sadness because of an event especially in public

divert –v. to take in a different direction that planned

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

9 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。