Seeking 'sense of justice' victims of Hamas Oct. 7 atrocities sue Iran, North Korea and Syria for billions of dollars in US court

Approximately 125 victims of the Hamas Oct. 7 attack sued the nations of Iran, Syria and North Korea for billions of dollars in Federal Court in New York on Monday. The plaintiffs, who are all related to, or themselves, U.S. citizens, demand $4 billion in damages for “a coordination of extrajudicial killings, hostage-takings, and related horrors for which the defendants provided material support and resources.”

The lawsuit was brought by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and is the largest yet to be filed against foreign countries regarding the Oct. 7 terror attack.

U.S. law makes it possible for plaintiffs to hold foreign governments liable, in some circumstances, for deaths or injuries caused by acts of terrorism, or by providing material support or resources for terrorist activity.

The victims argue that Iran, Syria and North Korea offered critical financial and military assistance that enabled the terrorist organization Hamas to carry out the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. More than 1,200 people in Israel were murdered by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists on Oct. 7, and 251 people, mainly Israeli civilians, including children, were abducted.

The U.S. has designated all three countries as state sponsors of terrorism. If the plaintiffs win their case, it is highly unlikely that Iran, Syria or North Korea will abide by the court ruling, however, they would be able to apply for compensation from a fund for American victims of terrorism created by Congress.

Israeli Nahar Neta, the daughter of American-born Adrienne Neta, who was murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, emphasized that no financial compensation could ever cover the pain of losing close family members.

“While nothing will ever undo the unbearable pain Hamas caused our family or the brutal losses we’ve suffered, we hope this case will bring some sense of justice,” Neta said.

The ADL stated the lawsuit aims to hold accountable any nations involved in the October 7 massacre.

“Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of antisemitism and terror – along with Syria and North Korea, they must be held responsible for their roles in the largest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust,” ADL Chief Executive Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.

While North Korea has denied arming Hamas, Israel has seized weapons and footage showing Hamas terrorists likely firing North Korean weapons during the Oct. 7 massacre, more specifically Pyongyang’s F-7 rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-fired weapon that fighters typically use against armored vehicles.

It is not the first major lawsuit filed in the United States regarding the Oct. 7 massacre.

Last month, Israeli survivors filed a lawsuit against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in a U.S. Federal Court.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 100 plaintiffs in the U.S. District Court, with the claim that UNRWA coordinated a billion-dollar money laundering operation that funded the Hamas terrorist organization, thereby significantly reducing humanitarian aid to Gazans, and contributing to the terror attack perpetrated by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7.