American Families Sue Palestinian-American Billionaire for Alleged Support of Hamas Terror Infrastructure
Nearly 400 American citizens whose loved ones were murdered or injured in the brutal October 7th terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas in southern Israel have filed a civil lawsuit in Washington, D.C. federal court against Bashar Masri, a prominent Palestinian-American businessman. The lawsuit alleges that Masri, through his extensive network of companies, knowingly aided and abetted Hamas by providing material support that enabled the group to build its deadly terror infrastructure in Gaza—support that ultimately contributed to the horrific attack in which approximately 1,200 people were killed, including 46 Americans.
Masri, a naturalized U.S. citizen and head of the Palestine Development and Investment Company (PADICO) and Massar International, is accused of longstanding collaboration with Hamas, a group designated by the U.S. government as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997. According to the complaint, Masri’s companies controlled key facilities in Gaza, including two luxury hotels and the Gaza Industrial Estate (GIE), which were all used to conceal and support the construction of Hamas tunnels used in terror operations.
Particularly troubling are claims that Masri’s properties—developed with funding from U.S. and international institutions including USAID, the World Bank, and the United Nations—were exploited by Hamas to prepare for and carry out attacks. The GIE, originally presented as an economic development initiative, is alleged to have concealed a network of underground tunnels, including one that reached into Israel and was used during the October 7th assault. The lawsuit contends that Hamas operatives had direct access to the tunnel entrances from within these facilities.
The plaintiffs further claim that Masri personally oversaw an agreement in May 2022 with Hamas leaders to reconstruct parts of the GIE. At that signing, Hamas’s Deputy Minister of Economy—himself a senior figure in the group’s manufacturing division—represented the terror organization. Plaintiffs argue that this partnership was not incidental but part of a broader pattern of collaboration, with Masri’s companies allegedly hosting Hamas leaders and foreign guests in their hotels and infrastructure hubs.
Central to the lawsuit is the assertion that U.S. taxpayer dollars and international funding were misused—diverted from economic development toward the support of terror. Solar energy systems and other infrastructure were ostensibly built to improve life in Gaza, but plaintiffs claim these systems were used to power Hamas’s tunnel networks. These projects, backed by international entities such as the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), effectively shielded the terror buildup under the guise of humanitarian development, the complaint says.
Bashar Masri has cultivated a public image as a Western-educated entrepreneur promoting Palestinian development. A graduate of Virginia Tech and a former advisor to the U.S. International Finance Development Corporation, he has partnered with major Western institutions, including the Soros Development Fund and others. However, the plaintiffs seek to expose what they describe as a dual role—one of public engagement and economic partnership, and another of enabling and empowering Hamas’s war-making capabilities.
Families involved in the lawsuit include those whose relatives were killed on October 7th as well as families of hostages still held in captivity by Hamas, including five American citizens. Ruby Chen, the father of 19-year-old hostage Itay Chen, expressed his hope that the lawsuit would bring renewed attention to the hostages and accountability for those allegedly responsible. “Justice needs to be seen,” Chen stated. “We hope this lawsuit will support our efforts to release Itay.”
One of the plaintiffs, Izhar Shay, whose son Yaron was murdered on October 7th, emphasized that continued funding of projects in Hamas-controlled Gaza cannot be divorced from the reality on the ground. “We can’t go back to a pre-October 7 mindset where people pretend that it is possible to support economic development in a Gaza controlled by Hamas without also supporting its terrorist infrastructure,” Shay said.
The legal team representing the plaintiffs includes several of the nation’s most experienced attorneys in civil terrorism cases. Their firms have previously handled landmark litigation involving the September 11th attacks and cases brought under the Anti-Terrorism Act against major banks and corporations accused of aiding terror groups.
While the legal process may take time, this lawsuit represents a determined effort by American families to seek justice through the U.S. legal system. They are calling for financial accountability and moral clarity regarding the use of development funds in territories governed by recognized terrorist organizations.