Surveillance footage shared on social media appears to show several hooded or masked men pouring gasoline on the vehicles before fleeing the scenes.
Four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community organization in north London were set ablaze overnight in what British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called “a deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack.”
The London Fire Brigade, which sent six fire engines and 40 firefighters to the scene, said multiple cylinders on the vehicles exploded, causing windows to shatter in an adjacent apartment block. No injuries were reported.
The SITE Intelligence website said an Iran-aligned multinational militant collective called Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand had claimed responsibility for the attack near a synagogue in Golders Green.
It said the group had been behind similar fires in Belgium, Greece and the Netherlands.
Attacks on Jewish targets have risen worldwide
The ambulances belonged to Hatzola, a not-for-profit volunteer organization that responds to medical emergencies.
Attacks against Jewish people and targets have risen worldwide since the October 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel that triggered the Gaza war, and Starmer had warned that the US-Israeli war on Iran would stoke tensions further.
He said in early March that the government would work with Muslim and Jewish organizations to ensure that sensitive sites had appropriate security.
Britain has recorded significantly higher levels of antisemitic hate since the 2023 attack, with the most severe incident a 2025 attack in Manchester that killed two Jewish worshippers during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Mark Gardner, chief executive of the Community Security Trust, which advises Britain’s estimated 290,000 Jews on security matters, said the fires had an “obvious parallel to similar recent anti-Jewish arson attacks in Liege, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.”
The London Fire Brigade said the fire was under control by 0306 GMT.
London’s Metropolitan Police said officers remained at the scene and that the arson attack was being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.
Police confirmed that there were no casualties in the incident.
“We know this incident will cause a great deal of community concern, and officers remain on 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,” the Met’s Superintendent Sarah Jackson said.
“We will be engaging with faith leaders and carrying out additional patrols in the local area as we continue our investigation to provide reassurance and a highly visible presence,” she added.
“There have been no arrests yet, and we would urge anyone with information to please contact us as soon as possible – you can do so anonymously if you wish,” she said.
