ABC News Daily

Israel’s military has raided Gaza’s main hospital, claiming Hamas was using the facility for military purposes.

Given hospitals are supposed to be protected by international humanitarian law, can Israel’s action be justified?

Today, former Middle East correspondent Ben Knight unpacks a week where the Al-Shifa hospital became a flashpoint in the Israel-Gaza war. 

Featured:  

Ben Knight, former ABC Middle East correspondent

After three years of heavy rainfall, huge tracts of Australia are primed to burn this summer. 

We’re being told to prepare for a hot and dry summer and the worst bushfire season since the Black Summer fires of 2019 and 2020. 

So, how are communities in the line of fire preparing and who will come to help them in the height of a bushfire emergency? 

Today, we speak to two home owners who have lived through catastrophic bushfires and are taking matters into their own hands. 

Featured: 

Steve Pascoe, Strathewen resident

Simon Geraghty, Wollombi Valley resident

As the war in Gaza intensifies, protests across the world are growing larger and in some cases turning violent. 

Reports of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are also increasing here in Australia. 

Today, expert on terrorism and violent extremism at Deakin University, Greg Barton, on why the war is fuelling a divide the Hamas terrorists would have hoped for. 

Featured: 

Greg Barton, Professor of Global Islamic Politics at Deakin University

When the Commonwealth Bank was hauled before a Royal Commission back in 2018 it had already tried every trick in the book to try and discredit its critics. 

From collecting dirt files to harassing journalists, it did everything it could to try and stop the truth about how it was treating its customers from getting out. 

But thanks to a few dogged former employees, the bank’s practices were exposed. 

Whistleblowers back then and today face risks with little protection from the law. 

Today, the reporter behind the story, investigative journalist Adele Ferguson, on how the Commonwealth Bank was caught out and why there are mounting calls for whistleblower laws to be strengthened. 

Featured: 

Adele Ferguson, ABC investigative reporter

As the civilian death toll in Gaza continues to rise, there are growing calls for a ceasefire, but Israel and the United States are rejecting that. 

But is Israel operating within the rules of war and is its response a month after the Hamas attack proportionate? 

Today, president of the US / Middle East Project and former Israeli peace negotiator,  Daniel Levy on why Western nations need to reassess their approach to Israel’s bombing and invasion of Gaza. 

Featured: 

Daniel Levy, president of the US / Middle East Project

Donald Trump has been in court for a civil fraud trial in New York this week, where the judge had to order lawyers to control the former US president. 

But while Trump might be in trouble legally, politically he’s on track to become president for a second time. 

The latest opinion polling has Trump out in front of President Joe Biden in key states one year out from the US election. 

Today, senior political correspondent for the Wall Street Journal Molly Ball on why voters are turning away from Biden and the implications of a second term Trump presidency. 

Featured: 

Molly Ball, senior political correspondent for the Wall Street Journal

We all expect network failures sometimes, patchy internet and drop outs in phone calls, but Optus has taken it to a whole new level. 

Not only were 10 million customers left without service for half a day, but for hours the telecommunications giant said it had absolutely no idea what was wrong. 

Today, technology expert from the University of Melbourne Suelette Dreyfus on how an outage like this can leave us all vulnerable. 

Featured: 

Dr Suelette Dreyfus, University of Melbourne School of Computing and Information Systems

Australia’s inflation problem has little to do with the spending habits of home owners, because the major drivers right now are things like petrol, rent and the cost of building houses.    

So why are borrowers being punished with another hike in rates? 

Today, the ABC’s senior digital business reporter Michael Janda on the limits of the RBA’s "blunt tool". 

Featured: 

Michael Janda, ABC senior digital business reporter

The world was captivated when three people died and one was left seriously ill from suspected mushroom poisoning after a lunch in a regional Victorian home.

Now that the meal host Erin Patterson has been charged with murder and attempted murder, the intrigue has only intensified.

Today, criminologist Xanthe Mallett explains the investigation into the 49-year-old and whether she can receive a fair trial. 

Featured: 

Dr Xanthe Mallet, criminologist and associate professor at the University of Newcastle

While Benjamin Netanyahu oversees the war in Gaza, he’s governing a traumatised nation that’s questioning why the terrorist attack by Hamas came without warning on October the 7th. 

Before the attack, the Israeli leader was under huge political pressure over domestic issues, but were there decisions he made that may have increased the risk? 

Today, Guy Ziv from the American University’s Center for Israel Studies on how long Netanyahu will be able to hold on to power. 

Featured: 

Guy Ziv, associate professor in the School of International Services at the American University