JERUSALEM, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Volunteers helped gravediggers at Israel's main military cemetery on Wednesday as burials began for soldiers slain in the assault on Israel by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip. Using shovels and a mechanical digger, they scooped out earth to prepare plots for the soldiers' final resting place at Mount Herzl National Cemetery. Ori Kirzon, a 29-year-old ultra-Orthodox Jew, said he came to Mount Herzl at 6:30 a.m. with other volunteers to lend a hand. It is sometimes likened to the U.S. Arlington National Cemetery. At a tree-lined section of Mount Herzl, dozens of silent mourners watched a funeral unfold.

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Persons: gravediggers, Ori Kirzon, Mount Herzl, God, Ronen, Theodor Herzl, Herzl, Dan Williams, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Volunteers, Mount Herzl National, Reuters, Mount Herzl Military, REUTERS, U.S . Arlington National Cemetery, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, israel, Mount Herzl, Jerusalem