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Ayman Ghazali and FBI (FBI photo by Rebecca Cook)
Ayman Ghazali, the 41-year-old Dearborn Heights man who attacked Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township on Thursday, was the brother of a Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli strike last week in Lebanon, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement Sunday.
“Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Muhammad Ghazali was responsible for managing weapons operations within a specialized branch of the Badr Unit,” the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement on X. “The unit is responsible for launching hundreds of rockets toward Israeli civilians throughout the war.”
“His brother, Ayman Muhammad Ghazali, carried out the terror attack in Michigan this past Thursday. Ibrahim was eliminated in an IAF strike on a Hezbollah military structure last week.”
Hezbollah is listed as a terrorist organization in such nations as the U.S., Great Britain, and Israel, and is considered a proxy of Iran. Since the start of the Iran war, Hezbollah and Israel have been actively engaged in fighting. Some nations aligned with the group refer to Hezbollah as resistance fighters.
CNN reported that the mayor of the Lebanese town of Mashghara previously told CNN that Ayman Ghazali’s brothers, including Ibrahim, were killed in an airstrike on March 5, and that Ibrahim Ghazali’s children were also killed in the strike.
Ayman Ghazali rammed his Ford F-150 pickup truck into the synagogue on Thursday and made it into the hallway, where he was met by security officers. A gunfight ensued, and Ghazali ended up shooting himself in the head, according to the FBI. One security officer was wounded when he was hit by the pickup truck, and dozens of first responders were treated for smoke inhalation after the vehicle caught fire.
All 103 children in the daycare and preschool, along with staff, were safely ushered out of the building.
Authorities found fireworks in his pickup truck. News reports showed Ghazali purchasing $2,250 worth of fireworks from Phantom Fireworks in Livonia days before the attack.
“Everything worked as it was supposed to work, but there is also a little bit of luck or God shining on us and watching over us,” Temple Israel Rabbi Josh Bennett told the Washington Post. “I’m so appreciative that we are talking about gathering for worship tonight, not gathering for funerals today.”
Ghazali came to the United States from Lebanon in 2011 as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was granted citizenship in 2016. Court records in Detroit show that his wife filed for divorce on Aug. 22, 2024. The divorce was finalized on March 24, 2025. The couple had an arrangement regarding the children.
The Arab American News reported that Ghazali, workers at Hamido Restaurant in Dearborn Heights, was the father of two children who lived with their mother following the couple’s separation.
❗️INTELLIGENCE REVEALS: BROTHER OF TERRORIST BEHIND U.S. SYNAGOGUE ATTACK WAS A HEZBOLLAH TERRORIST
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 15, 2026
Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Muhammad Ghazali was responsible for managing weapons operations within a specialized branch of the Badr Unit. The unit is responsible for launching…
