Xuelong 2 sails 10,000 nautical miles on current Antarctic expedition

Chinese research icebreaker Xuelong 2, or Snow Dragon 2, has sailed more than 10,000 nautical miles since it departed for China's 41st Antarctic expedition on November 1, completing one third of the planned voyage.

The 41st Antarctic expedition set sail from Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong in south China on Nov. 1, and the whole mission will take nearly seven months.

The expedition team is composed of more than 460 people and three ships, including research icebreakers Xuelong and Xuelong 2, and cargo vessel Yongsheng.

Xuelong and Xuelong 2 arrived at China's Zhongshan Station in Antarctica on Nov. 28 and unloaded there.

Xuelong 2 left the Zhongshan Station for the Qinling Station on Dec 11 and met with cargo vessel Yongsheng on Dec 21.

"Since we officially departed from Guangzhou on Nov 1, we have sailed through the South China Sea, the Sulu Sea near the Philippines, the Lombok Strait before we sailed on the Indian Ocean. After crossing the westerlies, we arrived at the Zhongshan Station and completed the first stage of the mission. Then we sailed eastward along the Antarctic continent and have now arrived at the Ross Sea where the Qinling Station is located," said Xiao Zhimin, captain of Xuelong 2.

Xuelong 2 and Yongsheng arrived at the Qinling Station on Dec. 25.

The Zhongshan Station, set up on Feb. 26, 1989, is located in the Larsemann Hills in East Antarctica with a total area of 378 hectares.

As the second Chinese scientific research base in Antarctica, the Zhongshan Station serves as a key hub for inland expeditions and supports research in meteorological observation, oceanography, geology, and other fields.

The Qinling Station is China's fifth research station in the continent. It started operation on Feb. 7, 2024.

Apart from investigating the impact of climate change on the Antarctic ecosystem and conducting international research and logistics cooperation, the 41st Antarctic expedition will build the supporting infrastructure for the Qinling Station.

Xuelong 2 sails 10,000 nautical miles on current Antarctic expedition

The Palestinian death toll in Gaza Strip has risen to 50,423, with 114,638 injured, after nearly 18 months of Israeli military operations, Gaza health authorities said Wednesday.

Local medical sources noted that since the Israeli army resumed its operations on March 18, the number of fatalities has reached 1,066, while 2,597 have been injured.

In the past 24 hours alone, hospitals in Gaza received 24 fatalities and 55 injured. Many bodies remain trapped beneath the rubble, with ambulances and civil defense personnel struggling to reach them.

According to a report by the Times of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Wednesday that it had carried out strikes on over 50 sites belonging to Hamas and other militant groups, ahead of a major ground push into the southern Gaza Strip. During the day, dozens more strikes were carried out across Gaza.

In addition, the IDF issued a statement on Wednesday night that it had intercepted two rockets launched from northern Gaza. Air raid sirens were activated in areas near the Gaza Strip, and local media said that there are no reports of injuries or damage in the attack. The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to Palestinian media reports on Wednesday, the Israeli air force targeted a medical facility operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. The head of Gaza-based health authorities reported on the same day that 19 people were killed in the attack.

The Israeli military stated on Wednesday that it had struck a Hamas command center in Jabalia.

On Wednesday night, Al Jazeera quoted relevant sources as saying that Hamas officials had received Israel's response to the ceasefire proposal, which had been put forward by mediators and accepted by Hamas. Based on this response, they concluded that Israel had rejected the proposal.

Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 50,423