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A hate crime investigation has been launched after an arson attack on four Jewish community ambulances in north London.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the “deeply shocking anti-Semitic arson attack”, adding: “My thoughts are with the Jewish community who are waking up this morning to this horrific news.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan posted online: "This is a cowardly attack on the Jewish community.
Multiple Hatzolah Ambulances Set Ablaze in Golders Green, Foul Play Suspected:
Several Hatzolah ambulances were found engulfed in flames in Golders Green, England prompting a major emergency response late tonight.Police and fire crews are currently en route and working to… pic.twitter.com/b9kX7I7BEt— Chaskel Bennett (@ChaskelBennett) March 23, 2026
"I am in close contact with the police who are stepping up patrols in the area, and I urge anyone with information to come forward.
"Londoners will never be cowed by this kind of hatred and intimidation."
The vehicles belonging to the Jewish Community Ambulance service were set on fire at around 1:45am on Monday morning in Golders Green. There have been no arrests.
The attack has been compared to recent arson attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands which a new, Iran-linked extremist group calling itself Ashab Al Yamin has claimed responsibility for.
Earlier this month there was an explosion at a synagogue in Liège, Belgium which the city’s mayor called a “violent act of antisemitsm”, as well as a similar incident at a Jewish primary school in Amsterdam.
A spokesman for the CST, a charity that protects British Jews from terrorism and antisemitism, said: “The antisemitic arson attack against Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green has obvious comparison to similar recent attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.
"No injuries have been reported at this time and we are helping Met Police Barnet with their enquiries.”
The Jerusalem Post said the Iran-aligned multinational militant collective Ashab Al Yamin, which translates to the Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand had claimed responsibility for the attack.
It said the group had been behind similar fires in Belgium, Greece and the Netherlands.
Police and fire crews rushed to the scene, and the incident is being treated as an "antisemitic hate crime."
Hatzolah, which owns the ambulances, is a large non-profit volunteer organisation that provides Jewish people with emergency medicine and transport to hospitals for free.
They have served North London's large Jewish population since 1979.
Sir Keir said on Monday: “This is a deeply shocking anti-Semitic arson attack.
"My thoughts are with the Jewish community who are waking up this morning to this horrific news.
"Anti-Semitism has no place in our society.
“Anyone with any information must come forward to the police.”
A witness, who gave his first name as Paul, told LBC: "The first explosion was just before 2am. It was a loud explosion which seemed to be close to me.
"I just wondered what the hell was going on and went to investigate. By that time, both police and the fire services were in attendance and there were huge, huge plumes of smoke going up."
He said "at least 50" people were evacuated from their homes as a precaution.
He added: "We were basically standing in confusion on the pavement for about three hours.
"It's very hard for them not to see this as a racially motivated attack. It seems so senseless to attack ambulances and volunteer workers."
Suzanne in Hendon, who was woken by the blaze, told LBC: "It's such a shame because these ambulances help everybody. It saved my mother's life once, it saved my son's life, even my husband"
She continued: "I have never, ever felt so uncomfortable. And for the first time in the last few months, I've actually thought if my children went to live in Israel, I would go too.
"I never thought for a million I would ever think that way."
Superintendent Sarah Jackson, who leads policing in the area, said: "We know this incident will cause a great deal of community concern and officers remain on the scene to carry out urgent enquiries.
"We are in the process of examining CCTV and are aware of online footage. We believe we are looking for three suspects at this early stage."
Police said reports of explosions are believed to be linked to gas canisters on board the ambulances.
Nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution and road closures in the area remain in place.
Damon Hoff, president of Machzike Hadath Synagogue where the ambulances were parked, said the community was feeling vulnerable.
He said: "When you attack a place of worship, and you attack ambulances, you're going for the very heart and core of what's decent about this country, and there must be outrage for that.
"The political establishment needs to know that there are many decent Britons that are going to feel vulnerable. In a time like this, this is, you need the very best of humanity.
"The community is feeling vulnerable and feeling frightened, but we're not going to let that get us down."
He added that several hundred worshipers attend the synagogue.
Mr Hoff said: "The synagogue is over 120 years old. It has got a lot of provenance. I think part of the provenance is maybe one of the reasons why somebody's claimed responsibility for the attack."
Alex, a Rabbi from Borehamwood, told LBC's Ian Payne: "I'm utterly shocked to wake up to this news of a sickening antisemitic attack on Hatzola ambulances.
"These ambulances are there to save lives, not of Jews but of everybody. And to target them sends a very, very sickening message to the Jewish community.
"I think it's not only high time that the authorities explain how they're going to support and protect the Jewish people, Jewish community in this country, but also what does British society have to offer Jews in this country? "
"I think it's quite clear. It's targeted at the Jewish community at life saving ambulances and it sends a very, very strong message to the Jewish community who are questioning in their droves whether there is a future for the Jewish community in this country. We need to be told, we need to know clearly what is the future for us here."
Sam Denciger, a local resident, told LBC he heard explosions that sounded "like bombs going off" and saw smoke and fire everywhere when he arrived on the scene.
Mr Denciger, who attends a nearby synagogue, said everyone in his community uses the ambulance service and putting those vehicles out of action will have a “very big effect on the Jewish community and the whole area.”
"Anyone who calls, they come to help. If it's Jewish or not Jewish, it doesn't really make a difference… It's shocking."
He added: "The most painful part is that we don't have anyone who's going to protect us. We don't have a government who's willing to…. Labour hasn't proved anything they have done against anti-Semitism."
Now, he is questioning whether the local Jewish community is safe and fears future attacks.
"The Jewish community is known to stand all together and we are strong. We're going to get through it. The question is, is it the first of many more to come?
"We see what happened in Manchester, we see what's happening here. We hope to have more police and more intelligence."
He added: "Where are we safe? It is scary. There are areas where you can't go without watching your back and I wouldn't believe it was going to come to Golden Green or to London so quickly."
Shomrim, a non-profit organisation which operates a neighbourhood watch in the Golders Green neighbourhood, said it was "aware of loud explosions" early on Monday morning.
"Emergency services are on scene following a deliberate incident involving #Hatzola ambulances being set alight," the group said in a post on X.
"The explosions were caused by oxygen tanks not a bomb or explosive device. Although some buildings have been evacuated no casualties have been reported.
"Please avoid the area while investigations continue."
This is a sickening attack on Jewish ambulances.
Thank goodness there appear to be no injuries.
Anyone with information should come forward to the Police.
We must stand together against antisemitic hatred. https://t.co/vAM7Z7WeJB— Wes Streeting (@wesstreeting) March 23, 2026
Shomrim said the Northwest London facility run by fellow Jewish charity Hatzola remained fully operational.
The fire brigade said around 40 firefighters were called to the fires and that multiple cylinders on the vehicles had exploded, causing windows to break in nearby flats.
Golders Green ward councillor Dean Cohen, who was at the scene, told Jewish News the fact the incident was taking place in the "car park of a synagogue is particularly chilling and will send shockwaves through our community at a time of already heightened fears over antisemitism in the UK".
He said: "It's beyond time for the authorities to wake and do more to tackle this hate running riot."
Community Security Trust (CST), a charity which monitors antisemitism in the UK, confirmed in a statement on X that it was assisting police in their enquiries.
The statement said: "We are aware of multiple Hatzola ambulances that have been deliberately set alight in London.
"This has obvious comparison to similar antisemitic arson attacks recently in Belgium and the Netherlands.
"No injuries have been reported at this time and we are helping @MPSBarnet with their enquiries."