Middle East latest: Israeli families appeal for return of loved ones’ remains from Gaza

Families of deceased hostages whose bodies are being held by Hamas in Gaza are pleading for the return of the remains of their loves ones.

The plea was made hours before Israel begins marking its national Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of militant attacks.

The number of people killed by Israel's war in Gaza has climbed above 51,000 people, according to the territory's Health Ministry. Since Israel ended the ceasefire last month, it has blocked all food, medicine and other aid from entering Gaza and its forces have seized more than half of the coastal territory.

The war in Gaza started when the Palestinian militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, of which around two dozen hostages are still believed to be alive.

Here’s the latest:

Israeli police in riot gear fired tear gas into a schoolyard in east Jerusalem on Tuesday, sending Palestinian children who were playing soccer fleeing into the building as they coughed and covered their eyes.

Three AP reporters visiting the school in the Shuafat refugee camp witnessed the incident. It was the latest Israeli incursion to impact the school, which is run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, for boys in grades 1-9.

The tear gas spewed through the school's open windows and filtered into the hallways as students ran for cover. Pupils donned facemasks while worried teachers ferried them into classrooms.

Israeli police did not immediately comment.

Forces had entered the Shuafat camp, a hardscrabble district in east Jerusalem surrounded by a concrete wall, earlier that morning, said UNRWA officials. Such incursions are common but gas entering the school is rare, said teacher Duaa Zorba. 42.

Families of deceased hostages whose bodies are being held by Hamas in Gaza are pleading for the return of the remains of their loves ones.

Israeli authorities say Hamas is holding 24 living hostages in Gaza and the remains of roughly 35 more. The families of the dead say their plight is urgent because they fear their loved ones won't return home for proper burial, which they see as a measure of closure to their ordeal.

"Every moment that passes decreases the chance that we can bring back the missing," said Meital Weiss, whose father, Ilan Weiss, was killed during Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack and his body taken into Gaza.

The plea was made hours before Israel begins marking its national Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of militant attacks.

Since the war in Gaza resumed last month, there has been little recent progress to bring about a new ceasefire that would free more hostages. Deceased hostages are expected to be the last to be returned.