American families sue Iran over Hamas attack

US victims' families file federal lawsuit against Iran, alleging the regime funded and supported Hamas's October 7 attack through monthly payments of $7 million.

By SHIR PERETS NOVEMBER 18, 2024 04:53

People ride their bicycles on Yom Kippur, in front of a wall featuring hostage posters, in Jerusalem, October 12, 2024 (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

Families of American victims of the October 7 massacre and those killed in the Israel-Hamas war sued Iran for its part in “supporting the single deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” the New York Times reported Sunday.

Filed in the US District Court in Washington, the lawsuit cites Iran’s funding of Hamas and its encouragement of other terrorist organizations attempting to destroy Israel, as was seen in Hamas documents seized in Gaza earlier this year.

According to the Times, lawyers for the families have obtained original documents that refer to a secret planning meeting of a small group of Hamas’s political and military leaders in December 2022, nearly a full year before the attack.

In the meeting, former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar reportedly requested an additional $7 million a month from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to fund what was then referred to as the “big project.”

Other groups named in the lawsuit are Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — all designated terrorist organizations by the United States as well as Israel.

Iranian armed forces members march during a ceremony of the National Army Day parade in Tehran, Iran April 18, 2022 (credit: WANA NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS)

“Hard, incontrovertible evidence of who funded Hamas is now becoming available in the form of documents, bank records, and the like, and we intend to hold those parties accountable, in the courts of the United States or elsewhere, for however long it takes”  two of the lawyers leading the lawsuit, Gary Osen – who once represented Nazi victims – and Lee Wolosky, said in a statement.

ADL lawsuit against Iran

In July of this year, CNN reported that the Anti-Defamation League filed a similar lawsuit in US federal court accusing Iran, as well as Syria and North Korea, of providing material support to Hamas, without which the October 7 massacre could not have been executed.

According to CNN, the lawsuit could unlock federal funds designated for victims of state-sponsored terrorism if successful.

September 11 lawsuit

Since 2002, families of the 9/11 terror attack victims have pushed for retribution against Saudi Arabia and Iran, though the various lawsuits have lasted over 20 years with little advancement.

In 2011, families of victims of the September 11 attacks won a case against Iran, Hezbollah, the Taliban, and Al Qaeda, though the win was a default judgment, as Iran has never shown up to defend itself against a case in US court.