Survivors and families of Israelis murdered or kidnapped in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre have filed a landmark lawsuit against Meta, accusing the social media giant of enabling and amplifying livestreamed terror.
According to Hebrew media reports, a class‑action suit was filed in early August in the Tel Aviv District Court seeking nearly 4 billion shekels (about $1.1 billion) in damages. The plaintiffs, which include survivors, victims’ families and ordinary users of Facebook and Instagram, allege that the platforms became “a pipeline for terror,” allowing Hamas militants to livestream and upload videos documenting killings, abductions, and other atrocities against civilians and soldiers.
They claim Meta failed to block or remove the content in real time, enabling it to circulate for days or even weeks.
The case, brought by attorneys Galit Karner, Asaf Shovinsky, Chen Shomeret, Karin Buaron and Inbar Hasson of the G. Karner and the Matri, Meiri, Wacht law firms, includes some of the most widely reported tragedies from the massacre. The suit was reportedly initiated by the Idan family from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, who say Hamas gunmen stormed their home, held them hostage for hours and killed their eldest daughter, Maayan, while Hamas livestreamed the entire ordeal. Her father, Tsachi, was abducted to Gaza and later executed.
According to Ynet, Tsachi’s widow, Gali, described how the attackers shattered windows, forced a neighbor at gunpoint to lure them out and broke in. Maayan was shot while helping her father hold the safe‑room door shut. The gunmen turned the home into a Hamas command post, seized Gali’s phone and accessed her Facebook account to broadcast their captivity.
“They livestreamed the murder of our daughter, our other children’s trauma, and our cries for help,” she told Ynet. “Facebook and Instagram enabled the broadcast of a brutal terror attack. And Meta is still allowing the footage to circulate.”
Another lead plaintiff, Mor Baider, says she learned of her grandmother Bracha Levinson’s murder when Hamas uploaded the footage to Levinson’s own Facebook page.
The lawsuit also names ordinary Facebook users who say they were involuntarily exposed to graphic videos simply by logging on that day. Plaintiff Dana Sara Shahar Yanai says she was repeatedly shown violent scenes through Meta’s algorithms despite actively trying to avoid such content.
According to the filing, “The horrific footage distributed by Facebook and Instagram on October 7 trampled on the petitioners’ rights in the most harrowing way imaginable.” Plaintiffs argue that each day the videos remained online, the trauma is renewed for victims’ families and millions of users, including minors. They contend that Meta’s platforms became “an inseparable part of Hamas’ terror infrastructure,” violating victims’ privacy and dignity while profiting from the footage’s viral spread.
The suit seeks 200,000 shekels (about $60,000) for each victim whose suffering was documented and shared, and 20,000 shekels (about $6,000) for every Israeli exposed to the content. The legal team accuses Meta of ignoring its own community standards, failing to activate rapid‑response systems and allowing its algorithms to promote violent content.
In a statement to Calcalist, a Meta spokesperson expressed sympathy for the victims’ families, saying, “Our hearts go out to the families affected by Hamas terrorism.” The company also said it designates Hamas as a banned organization and removes content that supports or glorifies it or the Oct. 7 attack.
Following the massacre, Meta said it set up dedicated teams working around the clock to remove violating material “while ensuring our platforms remain available for condemning Hamas and raising awareness for the victims, including the hostages held in Gaza.”
The Meta lawsuit comes just weeks after another billion‑shekel legal action was filed in the Jerusalem District Court, this one targeting the Palestinian Authority.
Families of more than 120 victims of Hamas’ attacks are seeking to seize over 1 billion shekels (about $296 million) in frozen Palestinian Authority tax revenues held by Israel, arguing Ramallah’s “pay for slay” policy — monthly stipends to imprisoned terrorists and the families of those killed while carrying out attacks — provided material support for the massacre.
The pair of lawsuits are part of an existing strategy among bereaved families and survivors to seek accountability beyond Hamas itself, targeting governments, institutions, and corporations they allege played enabling roles in the attack.
Other cases have been filed in U.S. and Israeli courts against Iran, Syria, and North Korea for supplying Hamas with weapons and funding; against media organizations accused of embedding photographers with militants; and against private individuals and nonprofits alleged to have aided Hamas propaganda or infrastructure.