Family of Christian Israeli soldier killed in Gaza ordered to remove cross from headstone

The family of a Christian Israeli soldier killed in Gaza has been asked to replace the headstone on his grave because it had a cross on it, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.

David Bogdanovskyi was killed in December during Israel's assault on Gaza and was buried at the Haifa military cemetery,

His family told Israeli media that they were ordered by the Public Council for Commemoration of Fallen Soldiers in the defence ministry to either remove the headstone from the grave or have him reburied outside the cemetery.

The family said the request had come after complaints by Jewish families who had claimed the cross offended them and affected their ability to pray in the cemetery

Bogdanovskyi's mother said she discovered her son's headstone was covered after visiting his grave during a ceremony for those killed on 7 October, saying she felt humiliated.

"The cross engraved on his headstone was an integral part of his personal identity and the faith," she said in a Facebook post.

The defence ministry said it was legally prohibited to place a cross or any other religious symbol on a military headstone, adding it was "especially important" because Jewish soldiers were also buried in the same cemeteries.

It also cited the Israeli army's Chief Rabbi, who said the cross harms the holiness of the Jewish cemetery.

The soldier's headstone was covered with a black cloth for several months.

In Israel, cemeteries are generally separated by religion, but a law passed in 2013 enabled non-Jewish soldiers to be buried with Jewish soldiers in military cemeteries.

Bogdanovskyi and several other members of the Israeli army were reportedly killed after an anti-tank missile hit a vehicle they were in Khan Younis.

The same month, the Israeli army began advancing into the area, including Jabalia and Shujaiya, pushing civilians to the south of the Gaza Strip, where over 42,000 people - mostly women and children, have been killed.