Relatives of victims of the October 7 attacks committed by Hamas in Israel have filed charges in the US against Iran, Syria and North Korea claiming their alleged support for the Palestinian extremist group has facilitated the massacre.
Iran, Syria and North Korea "provided material support and resources" that enabled Hamas to carry out the attack on southern Israeli communities in the first place, according to the complaint filed in a federal court in Washington on Monday by the Anti-Defamation League on behalf of 125 victims and their families.
The plaintiffs are demanding compensation of at least $4 billion for the kidnapping and murder of their relatives.
Fighters from Hamas and other militants brutally killed more than 1,200 people while rampaging through southern Israeli communities on October 7.
They also took some 250 people hostage, more than 100 of which are still being held in Gaza, though it is unclear how many are still alive.
Israel responded by bombarding Gaza and launched a ground offensive into the sealed-off Palestinian territory to eliminate Hamas. At least 37,765 Palestinians are said to have been killed and another 86,429 injured in Gaza since then.
Nahar Neta, whose mother was killed on October 7, said the reason that he and his family had decided to join the civil lawsuit was "to bring just a little bit of comfort and a little bit of justice to the victims and the families of the victims of October 7th."
If the lawsuit is successful, the families could be compensated from a US fund set up by Congress for victims of terrorism.
The money comes from confiscated assets and fines from companies found to have done illegal business with states that have been classified and sanctioned as terror supporters.