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JERUSALEM (AP) — The member of a antheral who attacked a Michigan synagogue past week, who was killed earlier this period successful an Israeli airstrike, was a Hezbollah commander, Israel’s subject claimed Sunday.
Ibrahim Ghazali was killed successful Lebanon on with 3 different of the attacker’s relatives connected March 5 — a week earlier authorities allege Ayman Mohamad Ghazali drove his car into a large synagogue extracurricular Detroit and killed himself aft information fired astatine him.
The FBI's Detroit office, which is investigating the synagogue attack, declined to remark connected the claims by Israel's subject astir Ibrahim Ghazali.
“Out of respect for the ongoing investigation, we volition proceed to refrain from commenting connected its substance,” FBI spokesperson Jordan Hall said successful an email Sunday.
The Israeli subject alleges Ibrahim Ghazali was a Hezbollah commandant who managed weapons for a portion that fired rockets astatine Israel.
A Lebanese official, who requested anonymity due to the fact that helium could not publically sermon details of the airstrike, has confirmed Ibrahim Ghazali’s death. The authoritative told The Associated Press that Ghazali’s children, Ali and Fatima, and brother, Kassim, were besides killed successful the onslaught that struck their location conscionable aft sunset.
In a connection sent to The AP successful Beirut, Hezbollah said that the brothers, Ibrahim and Kassim, were a referee successful a section shot league and a scout member, and they were targeted astatine location on with their children, but didn't explicitly contradict that Ibrahim was successful the group.
Authorities person said that Ayman Ghazali, 41, carried retired the synagogue onslaught aft learning that 4 of his household members were killed successful the Israeli strike.
Israel has stepped up attacks connected the Iranian-backed militant radical Hezbollah successful Lebanon arsenic the warfare with Iran has dispersed unit crossed the Middle East.
On Thursday, Ayman Ghazali waited successful his car extracurricular Temple Israel, adjacent Detroit, for astir 2 hours with a rifle, commercialized people fireworks and jugs of liquid believed to beryllium gasoline, earlier crashing into the gathering afloat of dozens of children, according to authorities.
He started firing his weapon done the windshield, exchanging occurrence with an equipped information guard. Ghazali fatally changeable himself aft helium got stuck successful his conveyance and the motor caught fire, said Jennifer Runyan, the peculiar cause successful complaint of the FBI’s Detroit tract office. No staffers oregon children wrong the synagogue were hurt, apt owed to beefed up information successful caller months.
The FBI, which is starring the investigation, described the onslaught connected 1 of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues arsenic an enactment of unit targeting the Jewish community. But the bureau said it didn’t person capable grounds yet to telephone it an enactment of terror.
Ghazali came to the U.S. successful 2011 connected an contiguous comparative visa arsenic the spouse of a U.S. national and was granted U.S. citizenship successful 2016, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
He lived successful a single-story ceramic location successful the Detroit suburb of Dearborn Heights astir 40 miles (60 kilometers) southbound of the synagogue.
The onslaught connected the Michigan synagogue took spot connected the aforesaid time arsenic a erstwhile Army National Guard subordinate who served years successful situation for attempting to assistance the Islamic State opened occurrence connected a schoolroom astatine Old Dominion University successful Virginia, sidesplitting 1 idiosyncratic and wounding 2 others.
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Mroue reported from Beirut.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.
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