More than 60 US citizens and their family members, who suffered injuries, fatalities, or were taken captive during the Hamas assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, have filed a lawsuit against Iran. They are seeking more than $1 billion from the Islamic Republic for supporting the terrorist organization, Bloomberg reported.
This legal action, submitted on Wednesday night in a federal court in Washington DC, includes explicit details and photographs depicting the violence that transpired on October 7.
Meanwhile, three American families whose members fell victim to the Hamas attack on October 7 filed a lawsuit on Wednesday afternoon in the Southern District of New York against the governments of Iran and Syria, as well as the Binance crypto exchange and its former CEO. The lawsuit accuses them of providing financial support and other material assistance to Hamas’s terrorist activities, Semafor reported.
The lawsuit in New York was partially filed on behalf of members of the Raanan family. Judith Raanan and her daughter, Natalie, were both abducted by Hamas on October 7 and were held in the Gaza Strip before being eventually released in a prisoner exchange several weeks later. The family and estate of Itay Glisko are also involved in the legal claim; the 20-year-old native of New Jersey served as a sergeant in the Israel Defense Forces and lost his life in the war with Hamas on October 8.
Jeffrey Ludmir, the third claimant, is the uncle of Daniel Levi Ludmir, a 34-year-old physician and father of two. Daniel was tragically murdered by Hamas terrorists while providing medical assistance to the wounded at Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel.
Lawyers involved in the court filing have indicated that more claimants and defendants may be added to the case as additional information about the October 7 attack is gathered. The legal representation for the families is being provided by Seiden Law LLP.
The New York lawsuit also alleges that Binance and its co-founder, Changpeng Zhao, permitted Hamas to utilize their cryptocurrency platform for financial transactions and payments. In November, Binance settled with the Treasury Department for $4.3 billion and admitted that Hamas and other extremist groups had unlawfully used the exchange. As part of the agreement, Zhao stepped down from his position as Binance’s chief executive.
