"One phone call separated the lives and integrity of the plaintiffs from the destruction of their lives," write 42 Nova party victims in their first tort lawsuit filed against the country's security agencies for their negligence and omissions in the events of October 7. In the lawsuit, filed today (Monday), about three months after the disaster, the victims claim compensation in the amount of NIS 200 million from the IDF, Shin Bet and the police due to their negligence in managing the events at the nature party.
This morning, the Tel Aviv District Court, through attorney Anat Ginzburg, filed the first claim for damages following the events of October 7. This is the largest tort claim ever filed in Israel against the state for its omissions and negligence in the conduct of the security forces in the face of the terrible events that took place at the Nova party.
Nova Festival Performance: Silent Evidence of the Disaster // Photo: Moshe Ben-Simhon
Forty-two plaintiffs signed the lawsuit, some of them survivors of the party who suffered emotional and physical injuries, and some family members of victims. This is the first wave of people whose life trajectory has been cut short and changed forever due to the criminal negligence of all the security forces in Israel. The lawsuit was accompanied by individual psychiatric opinions of the plaintiffs proving their claims.
"All the defendants had to do was make a phone call to their officials to disperse the party in light of the alerts received on the night of October 6-7," the lawsuit states.
Division officers expressed concern about the party
The lawsuit relates to omissions and gross negligence that ended in the terrible outcome and disaster. Among other things, the interface between the defendants prior to the Nova Party regarding the licensing and approval of the party, the granting and licensing of the party, the failure to issue an order to close the party and the dispersal of the participants despite warnings of a serious security incident in the area received several hours before the massacre.
Chaos: Footage from the Nova party near Kibbutz Reim (archive)
According to the prosecution, the request for permission to party in the Reim parking lot, located near the Gaza border, was submitted about three months before the event. Senior officers in the Gaza Division expressed security concerns about holding a mass party near the Gaza border, but nevertheless the approval was received. The operations officer of the Gaza Division objected to holding the Nova party on October 3, claiming that it was an unnecessary security risk, and stressed that the IDF would have difficulty securing the party throughout the weekend, because it was Simchat Torah and many soldiers went home. Despite his warnings and those of other officers, permission was given to hold the party. According to prosecutors, no one in the IDF or the police informed the approximately 7,3 Nova Party participants about security concerns.
Moreover, it was further claimed, when it became known on the night of October 6-7 that an exceptional security situation had developed, the security forces did not bother to immediately order the closure of the party and the dispersal of the partygoers to their homes. "It is incomprehensible," the court wrote, "how the defendants did not order the party to be dissolved immediately."
Nova Party Complex (archive), photo: AFP
The omissions, the lawsuit alleges, continued later and during the horrific massacre in which Hamas murdered 364 party participants, 40 were kidnapped – some were released and some were missing, many were physically and emotionally injured. Among other things, even after the fear of terrorist infiltration into the sector arose, the party was not dispersed, the number of police officers and equipment did not fit the nature of the mission, and more.
"The terrible omissions of the October 7th massacre will be discussed in all sorts of courts, and we do not expect the court to replace the commission of inquiry that will undoubtedly be established," says attorney Anat Ginzburg, "The disaster could have been avoided at so many points in time, from the approval of the party through long hours of ignoring hot warnings to the evacuation that was disrupted after the outbreak of the massacre."
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