The Israeli military reported today (3/15) that the brother of the man who drove an explosives-laden vehicle into a synagogue in Michigan on Thursday (3/12) was a Hezbollah commander killed in an airstrike the previous week. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that Ibrahim Mohammed Ghazali was responsible for weapons operations in the “Badr” unit, controlled by Iran. An IDF spokesperson emphasized that Ibrahim Ghazali was killed on March 5 in an IDF attack on a Hezbollah military building used for weapons storage.
Read: Synagogue attack in Michigan: Perpetrator had ties to Hezbollah (Video)
On Thursday, 41-year-old Ayman Ghazali stormed the synagogue driving an explosives-laden vehicle that burst into flames. The FBI characterized the attack as a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.” According to police, the perpetrator was killed by temple security officers who neutralized the threat. One police officer was injured, while at least 30 people suffered respiratory problems from smoke. More than 100 children present at the site were unharmed, authorities reported.
The brother of the suspect behind the synagogue attack in Michigan was a Hezbollah commander responsible for managing weapons operations for its Badr Unit, the IDF said.
He was eliminated by the IDF last week. pic.twitter.com/P0gJVf46O3
— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) March 15, 2026
Suspicious Hezbollah connections
Ayman Ghazali, who originates from Lebanon and came to the US in 2011 on a spouse visa as husband of an American citizen, became a US citizen in 2016. He worked at a Middle Eastern restaurant, while his wife filed for divorce in 2024, with the divorce finalized in March 2025. In 2019 he had traveled abroad with his trip being scrutinized by the US Department of Homeland Security, as he had been marked as a “target” person due to previous contacts with Hezbollah suspects. Upon his return to the US via Atlanta, his phone was searched, revealing contacts with individuals who were known or suspected Hezbollah members.
He had been recorded in US government databases for connections to known or suspected terrorists linked to Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to US law enforcement officials. However, despite his connections to the organization, he was not recorded as a Hezbollah member in government databases.
One week before the attack, two of Ghazali’s brothers and two of their children were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon. The mayor of Masgara village, where they lived, confirmed the tragedy and reported that the attacks targeted financial institutions connected to Hezbollah. The IDF made no reference to Ayman Ghazali’s other brother, Qasim, who was also killed in the raid.
