Iran, N. Korea, and Syria supported Oct. 7 Hamas attacks against Israel: lawsuit

The Anti-Defamation League is suing Iran, North Korea, and Syria over their alleged support for Hamas’s deadly October 2023 attack against Israel.

The 117-page complaint, filed on Monday, by the pro-Israel advocacy group seeks damages of at least $4 billion from the states for wrongful death, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault, and aiding and abetting the attacks.

The ADL sued on behalf of U.S. citizens for injuries suffered during the attacks and on behalf of the estates of U.S. citizens killed during the Oct. 7 attacks.

The complaint accuses these US-designated state sponsors of terror of financing the attacks and providing materiel that supported the massacre of Israeli civilians.

“In a world in which Jewish pain and suffering is far too often erased, we hope this ground-breaking case will bring justice to some victims and create a record of Hamas’ heinous brutality perpetrated with the support of these state sponsors of terrorism,” said ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt. 

He also said the states are liable for “personal injury and/or wrongful death claims” because they “provided material support and resources” for Hamas’s “extrajudicial killings, hostage takings and related horrors.”

Still, the ADl faces long odds of winning and receiving damages because the states will likely ignore the suit.

The complaint highlights what the group calls repeated findings in U.S. courts of Iranian liability for terror attacks against Israel, including those carried out by Hamas.

The plaintiffs seek compensatory damages against the defendants in the amount of no less than $1 billion and punitive damages  in the amount of no less than $3 billion.