Feds Call Michigan Synagogue Truck Bombing Hezbollah‑Inspired Terrorism

Federal officials have formally labeled the March 12 attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, as an act of terrorism inspired by Hezbollah, saying the assault itself constitutes material support to the U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. Investigators say Ayman Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Lebanon living in Dearborn, rammed an explosive-laden truck into the state’s largest synagogue while armed with an AR‑style rifle, then killed himself after exchanging gunfire with security guards; a guard was hospitalized and first responders were treated for smoke inhalation, but no congregants or children at the early childhood center were hurt. U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon told CBS News Ghazali explicitly recorded videos in the parking lot describing his upcoming "operation" to "kill Jews and burn their world," and his phone contained months of browsing tied to pro‑Hezbollah material, shootout videos, live streams of Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem and reports of an Iranian fatwa for jihad against U.S. forces. U.S. sources say Ghazali’s brothers served in Hezbollah’s rocket unit in Lebanon and were killed in a March 5 Israeli drone strike, after which he began recording martyrdom-style videos and posing with the rifle later used in the attack alongside Quranic verses and "revenge" language. With Passover beginning April 1, law enforcement agencies nationwide are planning an increased police presence at synagogues and Jewish community centers, as Jewish leaders and security experts on social media highlight the case as evidence that foreign conflicts and propaganda are feeding targeted violence against U.S. Jewish institutions.