The Israeli military announced on Sunday that Ibrahim Ghazali, the brother of the man responsible for the recent Michigan synagogue attack, was a Hezbollah commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon earlier this month. Ibrahim Ghazali, along with three other relatives, was killed on March 5, just a week before Ayman Mohamad Ghazali carried out the attack on a major synagogue near Detroit.
The FBI’s Detroit office, which is investigating the synagogue incident, refrained from commenting on Israel’s military claims regarding Ibrahim Ghazali. According to an email statement from FBI spokesperson Jordan Hall, no further details were provided due to the ongoing investigation.
Israeli military sources allege that Ibrahim Ghazali was a Hezbollah commander overseeing weapons operations targeting Israel. A Lebanese official, speaking anonymously, confirmed Ibrahim Ghazali’s death along with three other family members in the airstrike. The strike reportedly hit their home at dusk, resulting in the deaths of Ghazali’s children and brother, Kassim.
Hezbollah, in a statement to The Associated Press, acknowledged that Ibrahim and Kassim were part of a local soccer league and were targeted at home alongside their children. However, the group did not explicitly confirm Ibrahim’s role within Hezbollah.
Authorities revealed that Ayman Ghazali, aged 41, carried out the synagogue attack following the loss of four family members in the Israeli airstrike. The escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has led to increased Israeli military actions in Lebanon.
The synagogue attack, orchestrated by Ayman Ghazali outside Temple Israel in Detroit, saw him waiting in a car armed with a rifle, fireworks, and containers of a flammable liquid. After a standoff and exchange of gunfire with security guards, Ghazali fatally shot himself as his vehicle caught fire. Fortunately, no synagogue occupants, including children, were injured due to enhanced security measures in place.
The FBI, leading the investigation, categorized the assault on the synagogue as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. However, they refrained from labeling it as an act of terrorism pending further evidence.
Ayman Ghazali immigrated to the U.S. in 2011, obtained citizenship in 2016, and resided in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, near the attacked synagogue. The incident coincided with another violent event on the same day, involving a former Army National Guard member associated with the Islamic State who opened fire at Old Dominion University in Virginia, resulting in casualties.
This series of events underscores the complex and far-reaching implications of the ongoing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, reverberating across international borders.
