The Israeli military revealed Sunday that Ayman Mohammad Ghazali, the man who carried out a deadly attack on a Detroit-area synagogue, was the brother of a Hezbollah anti-tank missile unit commander eliminated by an Israeli airstrike just days earlier.
Emergency personnel respond to a reported shooting incident at Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, U.S., March 12, 2026. Dave Boucher/USA Today Network via Reuters
The Israeli military revealed Sunday that Ayman Mohammad Ghazali, the man who carried out a deadly attack on a Detroit-area synagogue, was the brother of a Hezbollah anti-tank missile unit commander eliminated by an Israeli airstrike just days earlier.
Israeli Army Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee confirmed that Ayman's brother, Ibrahim Mohammad Ghazali, was a senior Hezbollah operative killed in an Israeli strike on March 5 in Machghara, western Bekaa Valley. A third brother died in the same strike, according to Lebanese media — his identity not yet disclosed by the Israeli military.
The revelation draws a direct line between Hezbollah's terror network in Lebanon and a mass casualty attack on American soil.
Ayman Mohammad Ghazali, 41, arrived in the United States in 2011 on a spousal visa and became an American citizen in 2016, according to FBI Special Agent Jennifer Runyan.
On Sunday, he drove a pickup truck directly through the synagogue's entrance doors and opened fire from inside the vehicle. Security personnel immediately engaged him. His truck caught fire, trapping him inside, and at some point during the exchange of gunfire, Ghazali shot himself in the head.
This attack does not exist in a vacuum. It comes as Hezbollah wages war against Israel from Lebanese territory, and as the Iranian-backed organization's network of operatives, sympathizers and family members extends far beyond the Middle East.
Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait on Sunday condemned Israel's completion of work on the so-called "Sufa 53 Line" in Syria's Quneitra province. The three states said the project violates Syrian sovereignty, international law and the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday at a ceremony marking the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, that the group would never again hold "any power" in the Gaza Strip, where the question of future governance remains unresolved.
One was inspired by her son's last stand trying to fight off attackers rampaging through a kibbutz. Another by her son's final words as militants tossed grenades into a bomb shelter packed with fleeing revellers from a music festival. A third by the brothers he campaigned to bring home from captivity in Gaza.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.