UK police probe attack on Jewish ambulances

An aerial image of burnt out ambulances in a parking area along a street in the Golders Green neighbourhood of north London on March 23, 2026, after the volunteer ambulances run by a Jewish organisation were set on fire overnight. Picture: Henry Nicholls / AFP British police said they were investigating an online claim of responsibility for an arson attack after four volunteer ambulances run by a Jewish organisation based next to a London synagogue were set on fire early Monday. Here is what we know about the attack, in which four vehicles were destroyed, but no one was injured.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has denounced the incident as a “deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack”. The London Fire Brigade said it was alerted to vehicles on fire at Highfield Court in Golders Green, a north London area with a substantial Jewish population, at 1:40 am (0140 GMT). Some 40 firefighters called to the scene found that multiple cylinders on the vehicles had exploded, breaking windows in an adjacent block.

London’s Metropolitan Police force said the charred vehicles were four Hatzalah ambulances belonging to the Jewish Community Ambulance service. Nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution while some roads in the area were closed. All the fires were extinguished.

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The little-knownIran-alignedHarakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya group, meaning The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand, appeared to claim responsibility Monday in a video posted on its recently created Telegram channel. Police said in a statement “the arson attack is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime”. Counter-terrorism police are now leading the inquiry, even though it was not yet determined to be a terror attack.

The group’s online claim is being investigated. “Establishing the authenticity and accuracy of this claim will be a priority for the investigation team,” Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams told reporters at the scene. He added police were “looking for three suspects at this early stage. CCTV footage appears to show three people in hoods pouring an accelerant on to the vehicles before igniting them and fleeing”.

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