JERUSALEM – A group of Americans filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court in the District of Columbia, alleging that Iran, Syria and North Korea provided material support to Hamas, which massacred about 1,200 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7, to commit the atrocity.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of U.S. citizens who were injured or killed during Hamas’ invasion, the terrorist group which has killed more than 30 Americans during terrorist attacks.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the law firm Crowell & Moring allege in a joint lawsuit that the Iranian regime, Syria and North Korea provided material support to Hamas in committing the October 7 atrocities in Israel.
“Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of anti-Semitism and terrorism and, along with Syria and North Korea, must be held accountable for its role in the largest anti-Semitic attack since the Holocaust. We support this effort with the full force of ADL to hold Hamas terrorists and those who support them accountable,” said ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan A. Greenblatt.
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The image, produced from undated body camera footage taken by a downed Hamas terrorist and released by the IDF, shows the Hamas terrorist wandering through a residential area in an undisclosed location in southern Israel. (Israel Defense Forces via The Associated Press)
“In a world where Jewish pain and suffering is too often swept under the rug, we hope this landmark case will bring justice to some of the victims and leave a record of the heinous atrocities committed by Hamas with the backing of state sponsors of terror,” he added.
Fox News Digital reported on October 7 that proxies backed by the Iranian regime were behind the Israeli invasion. On October 15, Fox News Digital revealed that a coordinated plan by the Iranian regime to support Hamas was central to the thinking of Iran’s ruling dictator, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The indictment said Iran, Syria and North Korea provided military, tactical and financial support to Hamas, which the United States classifies as a foreign terrorist organization.
Syria, Iran and North Korea are accused of supporting the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7. (Vahid Salemi/AP Newsroom | Barry Iverson/Getty Images | Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images | Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images.)
The lawsuit seeks to hold state sponsors of terrorism accountable under the terrorism exception in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
“Foreign countries that sponsor terrorist activities typically refuse to honor convictions against them, leaving victims to rely on the National Fund for Victims of Terrorism, which Congress established in 2015 to ensure that American victims of terrorism, such as this one, receive meaningful relief for their suffering,” the ADL said in a statement.
According to reports, the Hamas terrorist mastermind behind the attack, Yahya Sinwar, is hiding out in Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
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Then-Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 11, 2023. (Iranian Presidential Office/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“There is ample precedent for this case: U.S. courts have repeatedly found Iran, Syria and North Korea responsible for material support of terrorist attacks that harmed U.S. and U.S.-Israeli dual nationals,” said James Pash, ADL’s senior director of domestic litigation and lead counsel on the case.
He added, “There is also clear evidence that these state sponsors of terror provided material support to Hamas terrorists for the October 7 atrocities. In a world where denial spread immediately after the October 7 attacks, this case will shed light on the horrifying truth of what happened that day and who was responsible for providing material support to this heinous terrorist attack, ultimately paving the way for justice, accountability and reparation.”
The U.S. State Department currently lists four countries as state sponsors of international terrorism: the Islamic Republic of Iran, communist North Korea, Syria, and communist Cuba.
Bloody handprints remain on the wall of a house after Hamas terrorists attacked Kibbutz Nir Oz near the Gaza border a few days ago. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
“More than 100 plaintiffs in the lawsuit are US citizens or family members of US citizens and therefore have standing to sue for the deaths, physical and mental injuries, and hostage takings they suffered during Hamas’ brutality,” the ADL said.
The lawsuits concern massacres perpetrated by Hamas in various locations in southern Israel, including the Nova Music Festival, Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Kibbutz Be’eri, Kibbutz Sa’ad, Kibbutz Kisfim, Kibbutz Erez and the Sufa base.
“My mother, Adrienne Neta, was born and raised in California. Her father was an Air Force engineer and her family spent much of her childhood on a naval base. She immigrated to Israel in the early ’80s and married my father, and the two started a family on Kibbutz Be’eri,” said plaintiff Nahal Neta.
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An image released by the Israel Defense Forces on December 15 shows fighting with Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. (Israel Defense Forces)
“While nothing can ever erase the excruciating pain Hamas inflicted on our family or replace the brutal losses we suffered, I hope this case will bring some justice. It is important that our story can be told so the world knows how Hamas terrorized Israelis, Jews and many Americans. My mother dedicated her life to caring for others, regardless of race or religious beliefs. She was a person who sought peace and justice, and was active in many civil efforts to bridge the gap between Jews and Arabs in Israel.”
Fox Business reported last week that American victims of the October 7 massacre are mired in scandal United Nations Agency UNRWA He is suspected of providing material support to Hamas terrorists.
