David Bogdanovskyi’s mother says she felt humiliated after seeing a black cloth on her son’s headstone after visiting his grave.
The defence ministry said it was legally prohibited to place a cross or any other religious symbol on a military 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.
Turkey extends role in Lebanon UN peacekeeping mission
Turkey has extended its participation in the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon amid Israeli aggression towards it.
Israel has launched several attacks on UNIFIL
The Turkish parliament has extended its troops’ participation in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon by a year, state news agency Anadolu reported on Wednesday.
Turkey has contributed to UNIFIL since 2006 and currently has 97 troops deployed in Lebanon, where the Israeli army is locked in conflict with Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
“Turkey has undertaken an important task in the efficient execution of peacekeeping operations thanks to its contributions to UNIFIL,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
In a motion submitting the proposal to renew Turkey’s participation to parliament, Erdogan argued that “pursuing our contribution is important”.
In mid-October, Erdogan hit out at the UN for failing to prevent Israel from firing at its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
“The image of the UN which cannot protect its own personnel is shameful and worrying,” Erdogan, a fierce critic of Israel, then said in a televised address.
“Can you believe it? The Israeli tanks penetrate into the UNIFIL zone, attack peacekeeping soldiers, even wounding some of them, but the UN Security Council decides to just watch all this criminality from its stands — that’s what we call powerlessness.”
The UN condemned the attacks with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying they “may constitute a war crime”.
UNIFIL, a mission of about 9,500 troops of various nationalities created following Israel’s 1978 invasion of Lebanon, has refused to leave its positions.
The peacekeeping force has accused the Israeli military of deliberately firing on its positions.
Gaza, Lebanon in spotlight: BRICS leaders condemn Gaza war, emphasising ceasefire calls
The summit discussed the ongoing crises in Gaza and Lebanon, with leaders emphasising the urgent need for peace, with minimal focus on the war in Ukraine.
More than 20 leaders, including Chinese President Xi, Indian Prime Minister Modi, United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are attending the BRICS summit. [Getty]
Leaders of the BRICS economic bloc, including Xi Jinping of China, Narendra Modi of India, and Vladimir Putin of Russia, convened in Kazan, Russia, for a three-day summit where they called for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to hostilities in Lebanon.
This summit, the largest gathering of world leaders in Russia in decades, occurs amid Russia’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine and Israel’s war on Gaza and assault on Lebanon.
Putin hosted 36 world leaders, facing growing pressure from both allies and Western critics to resolve the conflict, while highlighting Moscow’s global engagement.
Discussions focused heavily on the Middle East, with leaders condemning Israeli military actions and advocating for peace in Gaza and the West Bank.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged BRICS nations to use their collective influence to “end the war” in both regions, describing the conflicts as “cruel and painful.”
“I call on all members of the influential BRICS group to use all their collective and individual capacities to end the war in Gaza and Lebanon,” he stated.
Iran, which officially joined BRICS this year, is preparing for potential Israeli retaliation following missile strikes on Israel in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, as well as the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.
Meanwhile, Brazilian President Lula emphasised the need to avoid escalation in both the Middle East and Ukraine, advocating for peace negotiations.
He urged countries to “work together” to end the conflict that has resulted in the deaths of at least 42,792 Palestinian by Israel over the past year.
“Avoiding escalation and encouraging peace negotiations… is crucial for the conflict between Ukraine and Russia,” Lula noted.
President Xi Jinping reaffirmed his commitment to a ceasefire, stressing the need to “work tirelessly for a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian issue.”
In the final declaration from the Kazan summit, BRICS leaders highlighted the urgent need for a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, the unconditional release of hostages, and facilitating humanitarian aid.
“We stress the urgent need for an immediate comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and detainees from both sides, and the unimpeded flow of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip, as well as an end to all aggressive actions,” the BRICS statement said.
Leaders also condemned civilian casualties and extensive damage to infrastructure due to Israeli actions in Lebanon, advocating for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
The bloc denounced attacks on UN personnel, calling for an immediate cessation of such actions by Israel.
They condemned the bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus last April and a recent “terrorist attack” linked to Israeli actions in Beirut, labelling these actions serious violations of international law.
The statement also called for adherence to UN Security Council resolutions from 2023 and 2024 and praised the efforts of Egypt, Qatar, and other regional initiatives aimed at “halting the fighting and expediting the delivery of humanitarian aid” while emphasising the need for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The Kazan Declaration was adopted after extensive discussions lasting over four hours.
However, the backdrop of the summit remains the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In private talks, Putin received mediation offers from several BRICS leaders regarding Ukraine, even as he claimed his forces were advancing on the battlefield, according to his spokesman.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noted that Putin highlighted the “very positive dynamics on the front for the Russian armed forces.”
Xi, a key ally of Putin, reiterated the need to prevent further escalation in Ukraine, stating, “We must adhere to the three principles of ‘no spillover from the battlefield, no escalation of fighting, and no adding oil to the fire by relevant parties,’ to ease the situation as soon as possible.”
Indian Prime Minister Modi also called for peace, affirming, “We support dialogue and diplomacy, not war.”
As Putin faces isolation from the West and an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, the European Union has urged BRICS summit attendees to press him to end the war in Ukraine.
EU foreign policy spokesperson Peter Stano condemned Russia’s “misuse” of its chairmanship and expressed hope that summit participants would collectively call on Putin to halt aggression against Ukraine.
He supported UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his efforts to reinforce these demands amid Ukraine’s criticism of his attendance at the summit, stating, “We trust that [Guterres] will reinforce the call on Russia and on Putin to completely and unconditionally stop the brutal aggression against the Ukrainian people.”
BRICS, founded in 2006, originally included Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2010.
The group aims to challenge Western economic and political dominance, setting its priorities through annual summits, which rotate among member states.
The Kazan summit marks the 16th meeting of BRICS leaders.
In 2023, BRICS expanded its membership to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates following their applications.
While Saudi Arabia has yet to formally join, the other nations have accepted their invitations.
An invitation was also extended to Argentina, which declined after President Javier Milei pledged to strengthen ties with the West.
