Four ambulances belonging to the Jewish volunteer charity Hatzola were set ablaze in Golders Green in the early hours of Monday, in what police are treating as an antisemitic hate crime.
According to BBC, the Metropolitan Police have deployed counter-terrorism officers to investigate the incident, which triggered multiple explosions from gas canisters on board the vehicles. No arrests have been made.
CCTV footage shows three suspects dressed in black pouring accelerant on the ambulances before fleeing the scene on Highfield Road around 1:40 a.m.
The London Fire Brigade brought the blaze under control within two hours; no one was injured, though around 30 residents were evacuated to a local shelter after windows of a nearby block were damaged by exploding cylinders.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told officers the attack is being examined for possible links to Iranian state-backed groups, noting “the rapid growth in recent years of Iranian state threats” in the UK.
He added that it is “too early to attribute the attack to Iran” but confirmed all lines of inquiry are open, including an unsubstantiated claim of responsibility posted on Telegram by the Iran-aligned group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya. Police have not yet classified the incident as a terrorist attack.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood condemned the assault in the House of Commons, declaring: “The perpetrators must be in no doubt we will pursue them and make them face the consequences of this wicked crime… We stand with you, we will do everything in our power to protect you and we will fight relentlessly to rid our society of antisemitism.”
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, who visited the scene, called the targeting of the life-saving service “particularly sickening,” stressing that Hatzola’s “sole mission is to protect life, Jewish and non-Jewish alike.” Hatzola, a volunteer-run organisation operating in north London since 1979, provides free emergency medical response to the area’s large Jewish community.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan described the attack as “a dark day for London,” stating: “Jewish Londoners who volunteer to provide a service for all Londoners have been attacked for no other reason than because they are Jewish. This is an antisemitic hate crime.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who met Jewish community leaders, announced that the government will fund the immediate replacement of the destroyed vehicles and declared antisemitism “abhorrent.”
Extra police patrols, including armed officers, have been stepped up around Golders Green ahead of Passover. The Community Security Trust is assisting the investigation, and a public portal has been opened for witnesses to submit footage.
The arson comes amid a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents in the UK since the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. More than £1 million has already been raised through crowdfunding to rebuild Hatzola’s fleet.
