Israeli security officials have discussed how to respond to chants shouted by the Syrian army in support of Gaza during a military parade held on Monday, 8 December, in the capital Damascus, as part of events marking the liberation of the country and the fall of the Assad regime.
Videos of the military parade, which was attended by Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra, and Interior Minister Anas Khattab, spread rapidly on social media over the past hours.
The chants included:
“Gaza, Gaza, Gaza, our banner,
night and day, bombing and ruin, we will not collapse,
We are coming for you, our enemy, coming, coming for you, even if you were a mountain of fire,
I will make from my blood ammunition, and from your blood rivers.”
Israel’s Army Radio reported on Tuesday, 9 December, that the Syrian soldiers used hostile slogans against Israel and used the word “enemy” to refer to it.
The station quoted unnamed security officials as saying that over the past 24 hours, there had been internal discussions within the defense establishment, with the participation of senior officials, to examine the implications of the videos showing the soldiers.
According to the station, Israel is expected to take steps, including sending “strong messages” to “the Syrian regime” demanding that it condemn the recordings of its soldiers.
Israeli security sources told the station, “We act against the Syrian regime according to the principle of ‘suspect, then keep suspecting’, we view them with total mistrust. The nature of the regime is jihadist and extremist, and we make no distinction between them.”
The parade set off from Mezzeh airport (in western Damascus, Syria), continued along the Mezzeh highway to Umayyad Square, and ended at Customs Square.
Various units and formations of the Syrian Ministry of Defense took part in the parade.
Where did the chants come from?
There is no specific date or identified author for the slogans chanted by the Syrian army during the parade, according to an Enab Baladi review.
However, these chants are popular and widely used among ordinary people. They are also heard in military parades by Palestinian factions, especially in Gaza, where fighters from the “Gaza Brigade” of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement, chanted this slogan during a military parade last February.
Parts of this chant are also used by the Algerian army during its parades and training.
Palestinian affairs researcher Saeed Ziad commented on the circulated video of the Syrian army in a post on his account on X, writing, “On the anniversary of the liberation of Bilad al-Sham from the tyrant Bashar, we are today more convinced of the liberation of Palestine, all of it God willing, from the river to the sea, and of sweeping Israel from all our lands, from Syria and Lebanon and all Arab countries.”
Celebrations marking Syria’s liberation
Squares across Syria have seen celebrations and events in recent days to mark the country’s liberation from the Assad regime.
In a speech from the Conference Palace in Damascus, broadcast on large screens installed in public squares during the first anniversary of Syria’s liberation, President Ahmed al-Sharaa said that the Syrian people had stood firm despite all hardships, congratulating Syrians on the anniversary of liberation and the return of “a free and proud homeland” to its people.
He said the people had written a page of heroism and a story of great victory.
Al-Sharaa added in his speech from the Conference Palace that Syria had “lost the jewel of the East for more than five decades”, in reference to the Syrian capital Damascus.
The Assad regime fell on 8 December 2024 after an 11-day battle led by al-Sharaa at the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, with support from opposition factions.
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