Man in Michigan synagogue attack lost family members in Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, official says

"A man with a rifle who crashed into a large Michigan synagogue in what federal officials are saying was an attack had lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike in his native Lebanon last week, an official said Friday. Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, was killed by security after ramming into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit and driving down a hallway in a vehicle that then caught fire, according to authorities."

"The FBI, which is leading the investigation, described the attack on one of the nation's largest Reform synagogues as an act of violence targeting the Jewish community. The synagogue's staff, teachers and 140 children at its early childhood center were not injured, according to Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard."

"An Israeli airstrike killed four people in the eastern Lebanon town of Mashgharah on March 5, Lebanon's state agency and the Lebanese Health Ministry reported. A local official in Mashgharah told The Associated Press that Ghazali's two brothers and a niece and nephew were killed at their home in the airstrike just after sunset as they were having their fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan."

Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a 41-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, carried out an attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit by ramming a vehicle into the synagogue and driving down a hallway before the vehicle caught fire. Security killed Ghazali during the incident. The FBI is investigating the attack as an act of violence targeting the Jewish community. No injuries occurred among the synagogue's staff, teachers, or 140 children at its early childhood center. Ghazali lost four family members—two brothers, a niece, and a nephew—in an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese town of Mashgharah on March 5 during Ramadan. The attack reflects escalating tensions between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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