Oct. 7 Victims Sue to Hold Iran, Syria, North Korea Liable for Supporting Hamas

A group of U.S. citizens is suing the governments of Iran, Syria, and North Korea, arguing those countries should bear legal liability for the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks on southern Israel.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are U.S. citizens who were injured or killed during the Oct. 7 attack by the Hamas terrorist group, and/or their immediate families members. The case is brought by the Anti-Defamation League, with support from the law office of Crowell & Moring LLP.

The lawsuit points to specific quotes attributed to Hamas leaders, thanking Iran for providing them with weapons and funding. At another point, the complaint claims former Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officer Ezzatollah Zarghami admitted in a November 2023 interview that Iranian forces supplied rockets Hamas used in the Oct. 7 attack.

“Hamas never could have conducted the Attack without material support from Iran, both historically and in the period leading up to the Attack,” the federal complaint reads.

The complaint states the Syrian government has also provided weapons to Hamas, along with Captagon pills believed to be used by Hamas fighters as a stimulant to stay alert and aggressive during the hours-long attack.

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“Syria provided material support and resources to Hamas—both in the decades leading up to the October 7 Attack, and in the period leading up to the Attack—that enabled Hamas to carry out the October 7 Attack,” the lawsuit states.

The complaint asserts North Korea has also had a long history of supplying weapons and providing military training to various Palestinian factions over the years, from the Palestinian Liberation Organization in the 1970s and 1980s to Hamas in more recent years. The lawsuit alludes to a South Korean intelligence assessment that Hamas fighters used North Korean-designed rocket launchers during the Oct. 7 attack. The complaint asserts North Korea has also helped Hamas design and build underground tunnel networks “that enabled fighters to move weapons without detection by Israeli drones.”

“There is more than ample precedent for this case: U.S. courts have repeatedly held Iran, Syria and North Korea responsible for material support of terrorist attacks that harmed U.S. and dual U.S.-Israeli citizens,” James Pasch, ADL senior director of national litigation and ADL’s lead counsel on the case, said in a Monday press statement.

The plaintiffs are seeking punitive and compensatory damages against Iran, Syria, and North Korea in this lawsuit.

The ADL acknowledged that even if they do win the lawsuit, foreign countries found liable for sponsoring terrorism are unlikely to honor a judgment from a U.S. court. Instead, the ADL said the plaintiffs in this lawsuit will need the support of the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund, which Congress established in 2015 to provide some relief for U.S. victims of terrorist attacks.

Beyond merely inflicting a financial punishment against the three governments, Mr. Pasch said this lawsuit will “set the record straight about the horrors of what occurred on that day, who was responsible for providing material support for this heinous terrorist attack, and will ultimately provide a path for justice, accountability and redress.”