Elkana Federman, who served as a security guard at the Nova festival and was wounded during the October 7 attack, has filed a 2.5 million shekel ($650,000) civil suit in Jerusalem Magistrate's Court against former Shin Bet director Ronen Bar.
The lawsuit alleges that Bar acted negligently in the hours before the massacre by withholding critical intelligence from officials who could have ordered the festival evacuated.
According to the complaint, cited by Ynet, the Shin Bet received multiple unusual indicators during the night before the attack: the activation of dozens to hundreds of Israeli SIM cards allegedly prepared for Hamas terrorists, irregular movements by senior Hamas operatives, and changes in communication patterns. The suit further claims that a human intelligence source reported Hamas operatives gathering at mosques and meeting points, and that this information reached Bar directly.
Federman alleges that the human-source intelligence was not presented at a situation assessment held at Southern Command headquarters around 3:00 a.m. The lawsuit describes this information as a "game-changer" that could have altered how the other intelligence signals were interpreted. The plaintiff also points to Bar's decision to dispatch the Shin Bet's "Tequila" counter-terror unit to the south, arguing that this showed Bar himself was preparing for the possibility of a cross-border infiltration.
He claims Bar "did not provide a full briefing to Southern Command," and that had the complete intelligence picture been shared, the army would have responded differently and the Nova festival would have received different treatment. The suit further alleges that Bar should have alerted the police securing the event directly about the possibility of infiltration or kidnapping, but "in his negligence, did not lift a finger to protect the festival participants, including the plaintiff."
He argues that had proper warning been given, "the party would have been stopped and the area evacuated hours before the rocket fire and infiltration began," and his injuries would have been prevented. The lawsuit seeks compensation for physical and psychological harm, lost income, and pain and suffering.
