Eyal Zamir is the current IDF chief of staff and is a former director-general of the Defense Ministry.
If the government once again asks the public to brace for a prolonged and intense campaign, it owes it a clear explanation of intent.
The cabinet also approved the entrance of humanitarian aid into Gaza and its future distribution by a civilian company.
Sources present at the discussion told N12 that Zamir "set a fact" and "left no room for political discussion."
Zamir's position is that the IDF cannot allow Palestinian civilians to starve, cannot be directly involved in distributing food aid, and cannot allow Hamas to control the food aid.
The purpose of the ceremony is to honor outstanding soldiers in the IDF.
A mass reservist call-up or a partial large call-up is possible in the near future as well.
He vowed the military would "support and embrace and lend a helping hand" to bereaved families.
While Zamir also mentioned in the speech achieving “victory,” a reference to defeating Hamas, he highlighted returning the hostages as his primary message.
The forum of reservists said that Hamas can only be defeated by a sweeping and intense invasion of all of Gaza, using far more firepower.
The IDF said it "regrets this serious incident and continues to conduct thorough review processes to draw operational lessons and evaluate additional measures to prevent such events in the future."