Israel Hamas war: Israel Defence Forces brings enormous blimp out of retirement to deter Hezbollah

The Sky Dew berthed near Haifa, northern Israel. Photo / Getty Images

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has brought an enormous radar blimp out of retirement to patrol its border with Lebanon.

The Sky Dew, a white high-altitude balloon which is used to detect missiles and drones, was retired in 2022 amid unspecified setbacks in its development.

But it has now been confirmed to be back in use after being photographed over northern Israel on Saturday.

The experimental blimp’s redeployment comes amid an uptick in clashes between Israel and Hezbollah on the Lebanon border.

The Iran-backed terror group said it launched 62 rockets on an IDF base in northern Israel on Saturday morning in revenge for the death of Hamas’s deputy political chief Saleh Al-Arouri in an Israeli air strike last week.

Two more Hezbollah fighters killed on Israel border

Hezbollah has said that two more of its fighters have been killed on the Israel-Lebanon border.

The Iran-backed Lebanese terror group fired a barrage of 62 rockets on northern Israel on Saturday morning, before the Israeli military launched a wave of retaliatory strikes at targets in southern Lebanon.

The deaths take the total number of Hezbollah fighters killed in border skirmishes with Israel since the war began to 152.

EU foreign policy chief calls for two-state solution

The only path to peace in the Gaza Strip is the “creation of a Palestinian state”, Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, has said.

Speaking at a news conference in Beirut, Borrell stated that the “the only way [to peace] is the creation of a Palestinian state”.

The prospect would offer a “horizon of hope” to the Palestinians, he added.

Hundreds gather outside Parliament for pro-Palestine protest

Hundreds of people are protesting outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster for an end to the war in Gaza.

The crowd waved Palestine flags and held placards reading “Ceasefire now”.

The Free Palestine Coalition, which says it is made of “grassroots organisations in London, including Sisters Uncut, Black Lives Matter UK, London for a Free Palestine, and the Palestinian Youth Movement”, is protesting today.

The Metropolitan Police has said the protestors refused to share information about their route.

It has applied the Public Order Act to the protest, meaning they cannot move from Westminster’s Bridge St and must end the rally by 3pm.