ADRIAN MA, HOST:
The man who rammed his car into Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, was born in southern Lebanon. After ramming his car, he started shooting. And the FBI says he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he was confronted by security officers. The 41-year-old naturalized citizen lived in the U.S. for more than a decade but kept strong ties with family in Lebanon. Four members of his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike as the war with Iran began. NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi traveled to his hometown in southern Lebanon and filed this report.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: As you arrive in Machghara (ph) in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, one of the first things you see is a poster of Iran's former supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, plastered on a concrete wall. Usually, about 25,000 people live here. Many support the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHURCH BELLS RINGING)
AL-SHALCHI: Church bells ring out, but there's hardly anyone in the streets. Stores are shuttered. Most have heeded evacuation orders as Israel continues its aerial assault in Lebanon's South.
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing in non-English language).
AL-SHALCHI: Recorded hymns also ring out from the church, echoing down the empty streets. The Michigan synagogue shooter Ayman Ghazali was born and raised here, along with his two brothers. He had a niece and a nephew. All were killed in an Israeli airstrike. On March 5, as the sun set, they were all gathered at Ibrahim Ghazali's house, the attacker's younger brother, breaking fast for Ramadan.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAR PASSING)
AL-SHALCHI: A car passes by that house, which is now just a pile of rubble. The roof is caved in. I can see water leaking from a severed pipe and clothes strewn on top. Children's toys are covered in dust. Fouad Qasem, Ghazali's maternal uncle lives down the street. He says he helped pull the bodies of his nephews and the children out of the rubble that night.
FOUAD QASEM: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "I held my own flesh and blood in my hands," he says tearfully. The Israeli military did not respond to NPR about why they hit the family's house. Israel says it's targeting Hezbollah after the militant group launched rockets into Israel at the beginning of the war with Iran. Qasem, like so many here, says he's heartbroken for all the loss and also angry at Israel's relentless bombing.
QASEM: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "What did the children do to deserve this?" he says. U.S. officials say they're investigating why Ayman Ghazali attacked the synagogue in Michigan. But many in this town say they believe it was revenge. Several said anyone would want to avenge the killing of their entire family. Ibrahim Zeih, a soccer coach of one of the killed brothers, says he understands the anger, but that's not an excuse to kill other innocent people so far away.
IBRAHIM ZEIH: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "We're not against Jews as Jews," he says. "We're against the Israelis who are killing us daily." Machghara's mayor is distressed by this neverending cycle of violence. Iskander Barakeh says he's now worried about Lebanese Americans from here who live in the U.S. facing retaliation.
ISKANDER BARAKEH: Because revenge will bring more revenge from the other side and will not finish.
AL-SHALCHI: Everybody, he says, deserves to live in peace. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Machghara in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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