Victims and relatives of people killed or injured in attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah have sued the United Nations agency dedicated to Palestinians, accusing it of aiding the armed groups and fueling terrorism.

The lawsuit suit was filed on Thursday in federal court in the District of Columbia by American citizens living in Israel and the United States and their family members. A similar case has been playing out since last year in federal court in Manhattan.

Both suits are attempting to hold the United Nations Relief and Work Agency, known as UNRWA, responsible in some measure for violent acts by Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, groups dedicated to the destruction of Israel that have been designated terrorist organizations by the United States. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages, both compensatory and punitive.

Israel has long maintained that UNRWA has been infiltrated by militants and is biased against Israel in the war in Gaza, an accusation U.N. officials have denied. The agency has been at the center of controversy during the conflict, which was set off by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In the New York case, lawyers for the U.N. agency have argued it is exempt from such suits because it has diplomatic immunity. The Biden administration supported that position, but in April, lawyers in President Trump’s Justice Department reversed the government’s stance, paving the way for the latest lawsuit.

Some analysts say the Justice Department’s new position could open the door not only to more civil cases seeking damages from the agency, but also to the Treasury Department’s imposing sanctions on it.