Families of October 7 attack victims file lawsuit in US against Iran, Syria, North Korea: Report
Relatives of victims of the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 have filed a case in a US court against Iran, Syria and North Korea, claiming their support for the Palestinian armed group facilitated the attack that harmed their loved ones.
Iran, Syria and North Korea “provided material support and resources” that enabled Hamas to carry out the attack, according to the complaint filed in a federal court in Washington on Monday, Germany’s DPA news service reports.
Plaintiffs in the case, which was filed by the pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League on behalf of 125 victims and their families, are demanding compensation of at least $4bn for the kidnapping and killing of their relatives.
If the lawsuit is successful, DPA reports, the families could be compensated from a US fund set up by Congress for victims of terrorism.
The money to fund such cases comes from confiscated assets and fines from companies found to have carried out illegal business with states that have been classified and sanctioned by the US under anti-terror laws.
They should sue Netanyahu and the IDF. Netanyahu for funding Hamas and the IDF for ignoring all the warning signs and making a mess of Oct 7. But of course the ADL is going after more American money. Much easier and bigger pot to tap into.
Victims of rights violations in Palestine and Israel owed ‘reparation’: HRW
Victims of gross human rights violations in Palestine and Israel have a right to compensation, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said, as under international law, governments who are guilty of abuses are responsible for “effective remedies”, including paying compensation alongside ensuring truth and justice.
HRW said it submitted recommendations last week to the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including on the right to compensation for victims of abuse in both countries.
“Governments supporting Israel and Palestinian armed groups should not only use their leverage to stop further abuses, but also to ensure that victims and survivors receive meaningful reparations,” Clive Baldwin, a senior legal adviser at HRW, said in a statement.
Gaza littered with unexploded bombs, putting children at risk, says UN
Palestinian children are facing death and serious injuries from unexploded bombs scattered throughout the Gaza Strip, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA has said in its latest update.
In the most recent incident on June 29, a nine-year-old girl was reportedly killed, and three others injured, by an unexploded bomb south of Khan Younis, OCHA said. Eight other children have been injured in two other recent incidents involving unexploded bombs, OCHA added.
According to the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), at least 10 percent of ammunition potentially fails to function, meaning many of the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of war debris in Gaza contain explosives.
The Government Media Office in Gaza has estimated that at least 75,000 tonnes of explosives have been dropped on Gaza since October.
An unexploded bomb dropped by an Israeli aircraft lies among the rubble in the northern Gaza Strip on May 14
