The Bat Yam Municipality in central Israel filed a civil lawsuit against the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Tel Aviv District Court on Sunday, seeking 208 million shekels (approximately $65 million) in reparations for the damage inflicted on the city when a ballistic missile struck it during “Operation Rising Lion” in June 2025, killing nine and wounding hundreds.
The suit was filed through Shurat HaDin (Israel Law Center), according to a statement released by the civil rights organization.
Since Israeli law requires proof that an official representative of the defendant received the statement of claim, Bat Yam Mayor Zvika Brot and Shurat HaDin President attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner personally presented the legal documents to a representative of the Iranian Mission to the United Nations in New York last week, the NGO said.
The two acted in coordination with government representatives, the U.S. administration and security officials, Ynet reported.
“It is time for the Iranians to pay for their actions. The murderous terror regime that casts a shadow of fear over the entire Middle East cannot hide behind sovereign immunity while launching missiles at innocent civilians,” said Darshan-Leitner.
“The campaign against Iran does not end on the battlefield; it extends to the courts, bank accounts, assets and every financial resource of the Iranian regime. We will continue to fight on behalf of the victims of terror until we bring about the economic collapse of the Ayatollah regime,” she added.
On the night of June 14, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel. One of them struck a residential building on Jerusalem Street in Bat Yam, located in the heart of a civilian neighborhood.
The hit resulted in the deaths of nine civilians, including children, and left hundreds of others injured.
The statement of claim asserts that the impact caused destruction across an area of approximately 150,000 square meters, ranking it among the most severe instances of destruction in Israel resulting from a missile strike, according to Shurat HaDin.
Hundreds of families were evacuated from their homes, structures were destroyed and municipal infrastructure was damaged. Consequently, the municipality was compelled to launch an extensive emergency response, which included evacuating residents, funding hotel stays and alternative housing, providing social welfare assistance, deploying security, clearing debris and waste, hiring temporary staff and rehabilitating public spaces, the NGO continued.
“On these grounds, the municipality is seeking appropriate compensation,” it added.
Iran now has 60 days to respond to the statement of claim. If it fails to do so, the municipality will be able to request a default judgment, according to Ynet.
The report said that the city of Bat Yam will seek pecuniary compensation through funds owed to Iran by Israel’s state-owned Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Company.
In 2015, an order by an international arbitral tribunal based in Switzerland, upheld by the Swiss Supreme Court the following year, obligated Israel to pay Iran approximately $1.1 billion for its stake in the pipeline back in the days of the Shah’s rule.
However, Israel has refused to transfer the sum because Israeli law forbids transactions with enemy states. The Bat Yam municipality hopes that a part of this sum will be allocated to the city if its lawsuit prevails, Ynet reported.
