It has now been announced that Israel has approved a four-day ceasefire with the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 50 hostages - women and children.
With the Pacific region’s strategic importance in the superpower contest between the United States and China firmly established, the stakes at this Forum meeting - and forthcoming ones - are evidently much higher than ever before.
Addressing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people directly, PM Albanese reiterated a message he said he had delivered in Parliament: “We see you. We stand with you.”