THE British Embassy in Tel Aviv has lodged a formal complaint after Israeli forces damaged graves at the Commonwealth war cemetery in Gaza City. Officials sent a letter four months ago after learning that six headstones and a perimeter wall were destroyed by an Israeli army bulldozer during an operation in July in retaliation for the kidnapping of soldier Gilad Shalit, the /Daily Telegraph /said today. More damage occurred last week during an Israeli offensive in the town of Beit Hanoun, when an attack helicopter fired on one of the cemetery's memorials, the daily newspaper said in a report from the site. Two dozen more headstones had been hit by shrapnel from artillery fire and several others destroyed, it said. One unnamed British diplomat in Tel Aviv was quoted as saying officials found it "rather exasperating'' that there had been no formal reply from the Israeli government. Andy Fretwell, from the Commonwealth war Graves Commission, was quoted as saying: "It's very upsetting for everyone involved in maintaining the many war graves here in the Holy Land but particularly for our loyal and dedicated local staff. "I just wish the Israelis would pay more attention to what they are doing.'' The cemetery, which was completed in 1920, is the final resting place for nearly 4000 Commonwealth servicemen, most of them killed during WWI during action against the Ottoman Empire. Some 175 Australian soldiers are buried there.