🇮🇶🇮🇱 - Israeli military sources report that the forward operating base in the Najaf desert, Iraq, was established before the war with Iran even began, and with US knowledge.

The sources report that the entire operation nearly collapsed when an Iraqi shepherd noticed unusual military activity in early March, at the height of the war. The activity was reported to the Iraqi military which dispatched Iraq's Karbala Ops unit to investigate. Israel, to keep the base a secret, engaged with airstrikes and struck the convoy, killing one, and injuring multiple others, including the regiment commander Haider al-Khazai (who's still recovering from his injuries at Karbala al-Kafeel Hospital).

The Iraqi counter terrorism unit however did identify a foreign military base operating in the desert. Local Iraqis reported unidentified military activity during the war at 31.6673207, 42.4396675 (shown in the media).

Interestingly, the Israeli Air Force Commander Tomer Bar, in a letter dated to the 4th of March - the exact same date as the incident involving Iraq's Karbala Ops, wrote the following: "The fighters of the Air Force's special units are currently carrying out extraordinary missions that can ignite the imagination."

Situation in southern Lebanon as of May 9, 2026 - Western Sector:

The IDF has intensified their ground operations in southwestern Lebanon, making new progress in three different areas.

In the northwest, Israeli forces cleared the remaining part of Chamaa while other forces captured the two hills south of the village.

To the east, the IDF cleared the eastern outskirts of Tayr Harfa and advanced east, capturing the neighbouring village of Jebbayn, thereby linking up with forces operating in Yarine and Oum Touteh. From there, they pushed further east down the road to Chihine and the fields to the east in the direction of Salhaneh, where demolitions are now ongoing.

To the south, Israeli forces crossed the international border from Arav Al-Aramsha, capturing the southern ruins of Dhayra opposite the border, and clearing the hills in the pocket to the east.

+ ~16.67 km² in favour of the IDF.

Interactive map link: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=117K6_EiFdWYEK7LQKHjRSsjsHK7xVN8&ll=33.132269609333946%2C35.51827932442546&z=13