Israeli military officials stated that the brother of the man responsible for the recent Michigan synagogue attack was killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier in the month and was identified as a Hezbollah commander. Ibrahim Ghazali, along with three other family members, was killed in Lebanon on March 5. The FBI’s Detroit office, leading the investigation into the synagogue attack, refrained from commenting on Israel’s claims regarding Ibrahim Ghazali out of respect for the ongoing investigation.
According to Israeli military reports, Ibrahim Ghazali was a Hezbollah commander overseeing weapon management for a unit that launched rockets at Israel. A Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the deaths of Ibrahim Ghazali and his family members in the airstrike. Hezbollah acknowledged that Ibrahim and his brother, Kassim, were involved in a local soccer league and were targeted at their home along with their children.
Authorities revealed that Ayman Ghazali carried out the synagogue attack following the death of his family members in the Israeli strike. Israel has escalated its attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon amid increasing tensions with Iran in the region. Ayman Ghazali’s attack on Temple Israel near Detroit involved him waiting in his car armed with a rifle, fireworks, and suspected gasoline before crashing into the building. After exchanging gunfire with security, he fatally shot himself.
The FBI labeled the synagogue attack as an act of violence against the Jewish community but refrained from classifying it as an act of terror due to insufficient evidence. Ayman Ghazali, who became a U.S. citizen in 2016, resided in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, not far from the synagogue. The attack coincided with another violent incident in Virginia where a former Army National Guard member, previously imprisoned for aiding the Islamic State, opened fire at Old Dominion University, resulting in casualties.
The assault on the Michigan synagogue occurred on the same day as an individual attacked a classroom at Old Dominion University in Virginia, causing casualties.