Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Police tape hangs outside the Temple Israel synagogue March 13, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. (AP/Paul Sancya)
The brother of an armed man who rammed his truck into a Reform synagogue and preschool in Michigan last week was a Hezbollah commander, the IDF says, confirming earlier reports on the matter.
“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 hundreds of rockets toward Israeli civilians throughout the war,” the IDF says on X.
The IDF says that Ibrahim was “eliminated in an IAF strike on a Hezbollah military structure.”
Ayman Ghazali, the suspect in a March 12, 2026, attack on a Michigan synagogue, seen in security camera footage allegedly buying fireworks two days before the attack. (CBS News screenshot)
Several of Ghazali’s Lebanese relatives were killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier this month amid the renewed fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group, multiple reports said.
An unnamed official had told NBC News that the strike killed two of Ghazali’s brothers, who were known to be members of the Hezbollah terror group, in addition to his niece and nephew.
Your next read: ToI Editors' Picks
LIMITED TIME OFFER: Join The Times of Israel Community today and you'll receive a physical book of your choice, carefully curated by our editors.
Choose between two must-reads: When We See You Again by Rachel Goldberg-Polin, a searing portrait of a mother’s grief and strength following unthinkable tragedy;
Or Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe by Matti Friedman, the gripping and surprising tale of a forgotten moment during World War II.
As a Community member, you’ll also enjoy our DocuNation series of outstanding Israeli documentary films, an ad-free experience of our site and podcasts, commenting privileges, and more.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, March 15, 2026
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
