More than 100 victims and relatives of victims of the October 7 attack by Hamas militants in Israel on Monday filed a lawsuit against Iran, Syria and North Korea, accusing the countries of supporting Hamas and seeking at least $4 billion in damages.
The lawsuit, filed by the Anti-Defamation League in federal court in Washington, DC, is the largest case against a foreign country in connection with the attack, and the first backed by a Jewish organization, the ADL said in a press release.
It accuses all three countries of providing financial, military and strategic support to Hamas. The US government has designated Iran, Syria and North Korea as state sponsors of terrorism.
According to Israeli figures, more than 1,200 people were killed in the attack and another 250 were taken hostage. Complainants in the case include American citizens injured on October 7, as well as relatives and estates of victims killed in the attack.
Responsive Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed approximately 38,000 people, leaving the area in ruins, according to Gazan health officials.
“Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of anti-Semitism and terrorism — along with Syria and North Korea, they must be held accountable for their role in the worst anti-Semitic attack since the Holocaust,” ADL Chief Executive Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.
Iran already faces several such lawsuits in connection with the October 7 attacks.
The missions of Iran, North Korea and Syria to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It is common for countries accused of state-sponsored terrorism to ignore prosecutions in the United States and not honor judgments against them in American courts.
If the defendants are convicted, the plaintiffs hope to be able to access the U.S. State-Sponsored Terrorism Victims Fund, which Congress created in 2015 to compensate individuals who have won judgments against state sponsors of terrorism.
But that fund has been depleted, leading several members of Congress to introduce a bill in May that would increase the fund and guarantee annual payments to victims.
Monday’s lawsuit seeks at least $1 billion in compensatory damages and $3 billion in punitive damages.
Complainant Nahar Neta, whose American-born mother Adrienne Neta was killed on October 7, said in a statement, “While nothing can erase the unbearable pain Hamas has inflicted on our family or the cruel loss we have suffered, we hope this case will bring some sense of justice.”
The law firm Crowell & Moring also represents the complainants.
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