Australians are increasingly struggling to make ends meet amid the cost-of-living crisis, with 1 in 5 now saying money has become a daily stress, a new national survey has found.

The survey of 3000 Australians was conducted by Compare the Market for its 2024 Household Budget Barometer report.

It found 46 per cent of people were dealing with financial worries at least once a week.

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One in 5 respondents said their savings were going backwards, while 15 per cent were now in debt or are seeing their existing debt grow.

Inflation has been above the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) target range of 2-3 per cent for 11 consecutive quarters, a trend expected to continue until mid-2025.

Over the twelve months to the June 2024 quarter, the Consumer Price Index rose 3.8 per cent.

Compare the Market Economic Director David Koch said everyday costs, not luxury items, were causing the most distress.

"Most people aren't overstretching or living beyond their means, they are just trying to get by, but it's the rising cost of essential items that is killing them," Koch said.

Australians are now spending a third more on their groceries than they were six months ago, according to the report.

The median grocery spend was $200 in August 2024, compared with $150 in January 2024.

The increase may be partly due to some Australians avoiding eating out and choosing to cook more at home.

Median quarterly electricity bills also surged from $300 to $350 during the six months to August, however government rebates are expected to soften the blow in the short term.

While many renters have been hit with hikes over the past 12 months, it was homeowners who were more likely to say their savings had taken a hit.

Interest rates have gone from historic lows to their highest point in a decade. The cash rate hikes mean a family with a $610,000 mortgage is now paying roughly $1,500 more in monthly repayments – or about $18,000 a year.

Despite these financial pressures, a quarter of Australians had not done any shopping around to try and save on their bills, the survey found.

Koch said this could be an easy way for Australians to save some extra cash.

"Because we think we're getting a good deal, we often neglect to look elsewhere and could

be missing out on hundreds of dollars in savings," Koch said. 

"Australians have got to stop paying the loyalty tax and letting bill hikes go through to the keeper."

An international student has been killed in Sydney's south-west after he was struck by a car allegedly driven by his friend.

Ismail Hossain was being dropped home on Cornelia Street in Wiley Park when his friend, 24, allegedly went to reverse but instead hit the accelerator.

The car, a Toyota Corolla, hit and killed Hossain at the scene just after midnight.

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"We just heard a loud noise, like hitting a house, so we get outside and we saw someone else crying," a witness told 9News.

Hossain, originally from Bangladesh, lived at the property with four other students.

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The driver of the Toyota was arrested at the scene and was taken to hospital for testing.

He was later taken to Campsie Police Station and has been charged with negligent driving occasioning death.

He was refused bail and is expected to appear at Parramatta Bail Court today.

Police have set up a crime scene and are investigating the incident.

Police want to speak to two women sitting close by when man was injured.

Israel's military says it has encircled Jabalya, northern Gaza and launched a new ground operation, after seeing signs of Hamas rebuilding, despite nearly a year of fighting and strikes in the territory.

As attention shifts to Lebanon after Israeli forces escalated their attacks on the Hezbollah militant group, Israel continues to operate across Gaza and is again focusing on an area it previously said was rid of Hamas.

Elsewhere in Gaza, at least 25 people are confirmed dead after Israeli airstrikes hit a mosque and a school in the centre of the territory, hospital officials say. Israel said Hamas was embedded in both buildings.

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Israel carried out airstrikes overnight on Saturday into Sunday in northern Gaza including against what the military said were "weapons storage facilities, underground infrastructure sites, terrorist cells, and additional military infrastructure sites".

In a statement, the military said it had detected the presence of Hamas members there, as well as efforts by them "to rebuild its operational capabilities in the area," and was moving forward with the operation to "dismantle".

Hamas's military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, said it was engaged in "fierce fights" with Israeli forces in northern Gaza.

Jabalya is a densely populated refugee camp that was among the first places targeted early on in Israel's response to Hamas' October 7 attacks one year ago.

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Dozens of families in the area have packed up their belongings and fled once again after warnings from the Israeli military of the fresh ground operation in Jabalya, which is home to Gaza's biggest refugee camp.

The Israeli military issued a fresh evacuation order for residents in northern Gaza, adding it had expanded the scope of the "humanitarian area" in Al-Mawasi.

"People left their homes this morning, and they don't know where to go, carrying some simple belongings. There are no means of transportation," Abu Alaa Asaf, a resident of Beit Lahiya, told CNN.

"We heard the sounds of explosions all night long as if the war started today," Asaf said.

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Some residents of northern Gaza are refusing to move, saying there is no safe place left in the enclave.

Mohammad Ibrahim, 36, from Jabalya, told CNN: "I, along with my two sons, have stayed in Jabalya and will not go anywhere. There is no safe place in Gaza, and death is the same here or there."

Jabalya is home to Palestinians who have been displaced multiple times during the Israel-Gaza conflict. The camp has already been targeted by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) several times during the war.

In May, CNN reported that the Israeli military had renewed its fighting in northern Gaza where it had claimed, in January, to have dismantled Hamas' command structure. During that period, the Israeli military said Hamas was trying to "reassemble" in the area, raising doubts about whether Israel's goal of eradicating the group in the enclave is realistic.

In the separate incident in southern Gaza, a mosque was targeted by Israeli forces early on Sunday, killing at least 25 people, while another strike on a school killed four people, hospital officials said.

CNN video showed chaotic scenes as bodies were pulled from rubble after the overnight attack on the religious site in Deir el Balah, where Palestinians were sheltering.

"The mosque was a shelter for displaced people, there are no militants or anything inside," said Nabil Nadda, who was nearby when the strike happened.

"Just people who have no shelter, tents, or homes so they sheltered in the mosque."

The Israeli military confirmed it was carrying out strikes on both sites, calling them "precise" and said they were targeting Hamas "command and control" centres.

The renewed fighting comes on the eve of the anniversary of the October 7 attacks, which saw Hamas kill around 1200 people in Israel and seize more than 250 hostages.

The Israeli offensive that followed in Gaza – which Israel says is aimed at destroying Hamas – has killed more than 41,000 people and triggered a humanitarian crisis.

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A famous American YouTuber and streamer wrote off his $300,000 luxury car as he was in the middle of a livestream.

Jack Doherty, 20, totalled his custom McLaren supercar while driving in the rain along a Miami highway on Saturday.

Doherty was reportedly livestreaming the ride when the crash occurred, which saw him lose control of the car and smash into a guard rail.

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Since-deleted footage showed Doherty yelling "no, no no!" as the car crashed into a rail on the side of the road, according to multiple reports, as well as the aftermath of the incident.

Another video showed the streamer yelling for help after being stuck in the wreckage.

A second man, who was filming Doherty during the crash, was also in the car.

Both survived the crash with only a few scrapes.

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Doherty has since uploaded footage of the wreckage to his social media channels with the caption: "Crashed my McLaren… glad we're both OK".

"I did not think this was going to be happening today, guys my McLaren is totalled a couple days before my 21st birthday," Doherty said.

"We could have went off that cliff… we would have been dead. We're so happy to be alive right now."

After Doherty shared clips of his near-death experience, some viewers accused the streamer of using his phone while driving shortly before the crash.

Doherty has not responded to these claims.

The young YouTuber had purchased the McLaren in 2023 for close to $300,000.

Shortly after the crash, Doherty's profile on streaming platform Kick appears to have been taken down.

A spokesperson for Kick told NBC News it "does not condone illegal activity, which is why we swiftly took action to ban this creator from the platform."

Doherty has 14.9 million subscribers on YouTube and three million followers on Instagram.

The family has been missing since December 2021.

Aussies are being urged to have a clear-out for op shops – but not to donate fast fashion pieces and only give clothes they'd like to buy themselves.

Research says $20 billion dollars worth of clothes that could be donated to charity shops are sitting idle in Aussie wardrobes, with 84 per cent of people admitting to having clothes they never wear.

The study by Uber and Red Cross Australia revealed more than 70 per cent of Australians hold onto clothing for years after it has gone unworn for at least a year.

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That's despite more than half of Aussie saying donating clothes is their preferred way of helping charities.

The research found another disparity between Australians' donation and shopping behaviours.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents confessed to donating damaged clothing, while almost no one said they'd buy that.

Aussies also said they're hunting for bargains on pricey items such as designer coats or unique clothing at op shops.

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But less than 20 per cent admit to giving these kinds of items, with synthetic 'fast-fashion' clothing being the most common donation.

This year's Uber x Red Cross Clothing Drive's free clothing pick-up is planned for Saturday October 19.

"With this Clothing Drive, we're encouraging Aussies to donate better, focusing on quality clothing that can be sold in Australian Red Cross Shops. These quality pieces can make a huge difference in proceeds raised for our humanitarian programs," Richard Wood, Head of Retail at Red Cross Australia, said.

By offering free 'Uber Package' delivery to Red Cross Shop drop off locations across Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, Uber is making it easier than ever to donate quality pre-loved clothing to those in need.

Open the Uber app between 10am and 4pm that day and scroll to the Red Cross Clothing Drive image to arrange.

An eight-year-old girl has died and a woman in her 30s, the child's babysitter, is unaccounted for after flames tore through a home on Brisbane's Bayside.

Raven's heartbroken relatives Robert Arthur Rodgers-Falk and Christine Mary Rodgers-Falk have told 9News: "She loved shopping, she loved socialising, she was a very special, very well-loved eight-year-old girl.

"Her nickname was 'Turtle'… she was very pretty and she lifted us up when we saw her."

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9News understands Raven's mother Chloe Louise Davidson and stepfather Matthew Glen Rodgers-Falk were in Ballina at the time of the fire.

Emergency services were called to Bayside Court in Thorneside about 7.15am yesterday to find the townhouse well alight.

The flames spread rapidly and were visible from several suburbs over.

Brave neighbours rushed to the scene, scaling fences and using hoses and buckets of water to try and battle the fire.

"I've got my own kids and I just kicked into gear," neighbour Zac Benjiman told 9News.

Thick smoke was seen billowing from the multi-storey property, where the roof collapsed and surrounding buildings were left charred.

Queensland Police Service Chief Inspector Karl Hahne said the units were "burning very hot" and multiple efforts were made by first responders and neighbours to enter the premises.

"It's a confronting scene for all emergency services, and I'm quite sure for the residents and our hearts go out to the families affected by this," Hahne said.

"Anyone who assists anybody in the time of need, we tip our hat to them.

"For the next few hours and even the next couple of days, this scene will be an ongoing investigation."

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Due to the intensity of the fire, it is still too hot for investigators to gain access safely, meaning it could be days before the cause and origin of the blaze can be determined.

Authorities have not been able to say whether the fire is being treated as suspicious, or whether it was a horrific accident.

A man was also taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.

A Frontier Airlines flight seemed to catch fire as it made what officials described as a "hard landing" at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.

Flight 1326 was arriving from San Diego, and the plane was "in the process of landing" on Saturday when smoke was reported in the cockpit and the pilots declared an emergency, according to statements from Frontier and the US Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane "experienced a hard landing where basically tyres blew", airport officials told CNN.

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Video obtained by CNN shows flames underneath the plane and a trail of smoke after it landed.

The Clark County Fire Department responded immediately, and all the passengers and crew were safely transported to the gate area, airport officials added.

A total of 190 passengers and seven crew members were on board when the incident occurred around 3.15pm local time, Frontier said.

"The cause of the incident is currently under investigation," the airline added.

A ground stop at the airport was in effect until 7pm on Saturday evening, according to the FAA.

The US National Transportation Safety Board will also investigate the incident, according to a Saturday statement from the agency posted on X.

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