Good morning. Thomas Morgan here with Thursday's AM NewsMail.

Fuel prices have jumped again and, as our Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran writes from Beirut in his daily update, the latest Israeli attack could have huge ramifications. Plus, our teams are looking at how the crisis in the Middle East is set to affect Australian households, with petrol prices up and the government warning of hard decisions in the May budget.

Also in the headlines, a new report calls for the introduction of fixed-rate 30-year home loans, and traditional owners are furious at the Queensland government for relocating a famous Aussie crocodile.

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G'day, Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran with you again this morning, from Beirut. Here's today's daily update to get you up to speed with the latest happenings in the region.

Israel has launched unprecedented attacks on gas fields in Iran, in a reservoir jointly owned by Qatar. In response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued evacuation warnings for oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

These attacks threaten to take this war to a dangerous new stage — not only because of what they mean for resources in the region, but how they could literally blow up elsewhere.

The South Pars gas operation is the largest in the world. Qatar has copped it in recent weeks, hit with wave after wave of Iranian attacks, because it hosts the largest US base in the region. Now it is facing attacks on its assets from Israel.

Oil prices jumped 5 per cent after news of the attack. And Iranian state media reported warnings from the IRGC about retaliatory strikes on oil pipelines and refineries across the Middle East, including in Saudi Arabia.

If those attacks happen, they will drag more countries deeper into this conflict, as well as further shake up global markets. Israel has previously said attacks on fuel depots and refineries that are part of the Iranian war machine are a fair target. But this could trigger something far more problematic.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, there is a real fear that the Israeli attacks on claimed Hezbollah targets are going far further than in previous conflicts. Some communities in the south risk being totally isolated from the rest of the country as Israel targets bridges over the Litani River.

And buildings that locals say are purely residential have been targeted in the downtown Beirut. Lebanese health authorities said at least 10 people were killed in strikes in the heart of the city. But the ABC has been told that number could be far higher — that Hezbollah-affiliated ambulances picked up the dead and injured, taking them to hospitals out of sight of state authorities.

Thanks for joining me. You can keep track of the latest updates from Iran and around the world throughout the day via our live blog.

• Reason to go further: Australians are facing yet another global shock to the economy, but in a major speech today, Treasurer Jim Chalmers will argue the turmoil only strengthens the case for bold budget reforms. He will also warn of "hard decisions" to be made in May, according to a copy of the speech obtained by the ABC.
• Analysis with David Speers: No-one can quite predict how Donald Trump will end this war, and that has big implications for our looming federal budget. Mr Chalmers appears keen not to waste a crisis, but whether his ambition can hold up against a "chaotic" war in the Middle East is another matter.
• Pump pain: We're being warned to brace for higher prices at the bowser, but experts say fed-up motorists should not expect service stations that are overcharging to be prosecuted. And drivers are clearly wanting to vote with their feet, with a fuel price monitoring website reporting a six to eightfold increase in visitors since the Iran war started.
• "Kamikazedrones": So-called commercial drones listed on online retail platform Alibaba are near identical to the Iranian-made Shahed drones that have effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz. And according to sales catalogues obtained by the ABC, the drone models are even being promoted as "cruise missiles" and "suicide attack drones".
• LISTEN: As Israel keeps up its relentless strikes, today's episode of ABC News Daily asks whether Benjamin Netanyahu's goal is to make Iran a failed state (