Dozens of families with American citizenship, who also hold Israeli passports and who were affected by the October 7 massacre, have filed a $500 million lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington against Syria.
The lawsuit alleges Syria funded, armed, assisted and supported the Hamas terrorist organization with tens of millions of dollars, enabling the massacre.
The lawsuit seeks compensation for physical and psychological damages caused directly and indirectly to the plaintiffs and their family members at the Nova Festival, in the town of Sderot, surrounding communities and elsewhere.
The lawsuit claims Syria directly supported Hamas by providing military and logistical equipment and allowed Hamas to use Syrian territory to prepare for the terrorist attack. It also alleges Syria acted contrary to U.S. laws, seeking to hold Syria accountable as a state sponsor of terrorism. This is in line with U.S. law, which states that a nation designated by the U.S. government as a terrorism sponsor is not immune from legal action within the United States.
The attorneys are seeking $500 million in damages on behalf of the plaintiffs. "Syria colluded with Hamas and provided material support and resources to carry out extrajudicial killings, hostage-taking and torture, including the terrorist attack. It approved and ratified the actions of senior officials, employees and agents described in this lawsuit and engaged in other actions that facilitated, enabled and caused the terrorist attack and the harm to the plaintiffs. This material support to Hamas could not have been provided without the explicit approval of the Syrian government, officials and agents."
The plaintiffs and their families are represented by the law firm of Gideon Fisher & Co., which has been collecting hundreds of testimonies from the victims' families in recent months. The lawsuit against Syria was filed in federal court in Washington, in collaboration with attorney Dan Kalisher from the U.S. law firm Foster Graham Milstein & Kalisher and attorney Asher Perlin, who specialize in U.S. litigation related to acts of terrorism and the fight against its supporters. This lawsuit is part of a series of lawsuits, totaling billions of shekels, filed against Iran and UNRWA as well.
In recent months, the October 7 lawsuits have been centralized at the legal headquarters led by Dr. Gideon Fisher & Co., in collaboration with the Organization of Victims of Hostile Acts and with the assistance of attorney Ortal Reisman, legal advisor to the Civil Advocacy Headquarters.
Numerous testimonies and evidence are being submitted by the attorneys to the court, alongside expert opinions from the fields of security, medicine, intelligence and law, indicating the direct and indirect involvement of states with the Axis of Evil in planning, financing, training and supporting the execution of terrorist acts carried out by Hamas and others on October 7.
"After filing lawsuits against the state of Iran on behalf of the victims of October 7, we have now added new lawsuits against the state of Syria, based on information confirming their involvement and responsibility for the damages," Fisher said "Our office, in combination with international experts, is preparing in the coming days to file separate lawsuits on behalf of over 300 victims who suffered bodily and mental harm, with new plaintiffs joining daily, empowering us against the terrorist elements, both abroad and in the country."
Reisman, legal advisor of the Civil Advocacy Headquarters, expressed support for the collaboration with the October 7 lawsuits headquarters and invited additional citizens recognized as victims of hostile acts to join the lawsuit to be filed in the country against Hamas and the entities that funded it.
Lt. Col. (res.) Attorney Maurice Hirsch, an expert in legal confrontation with terrorism and former head of the military prosecution in the West Bank, said that "as part of the Axis of Evil, Syria serves as another link in the 'ring of fire' created by Iran around the state of Israel. Syria assists all Palestinian terrorist organizations and even allows Iran to exploit its territory to transfer weapons to terrorists in Lebanon. Civil lawsuits against Syria are a very important part of the fight against terrorism."