(JNS.org) Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Thursday, June 11 adopted a recommendation from the Public Council for Commemorating Soldiers and decided to hold an official annual ceremony honoring the 67 IDF soldiers who were killed in Operation Protective Edge in Gaza last summer.

The defense minister made the decision on the basis of requests made by bereaved families of fallen soldiers. IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot supported the decision.

The first annual ceremony, scheduled for July 9, will be held at the military cemetery at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Ya’alon and the entire top echelon of the IDF are expected to attend.

The ceremony will be classified as official, but will not be a state ceremony, as Operation Protective Edge has not been officially labeled a war – instead, an operation. Should the Defense Ministry change its classification, a state ceremony would be possible.