POLICE in London are investigating an arson attack on four volunteer ambulances run by a Jewish organisation near a synagogue, as the city’s police chief announced plans to increase security.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said more than 250 additional officers would be deployed, along with “highly visible” armed patrols to protect the Jewish community.
The force also said it was examining an online claim of responsibility. Counter-terrorism police are leading the inquiry into what prime minister Keir Starmer called a “deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack”.
What happened
The London Fire Brigade said it was called to reports of vehicles on fire at Highfield Court in Golders Green, north London, at 1:40 am on Monday.
Around 40 firefighters attended the scene, where cylinders stored on the vehicles belonging to the Jewish Community Ambulance service had exploded.
A group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), meaning The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand, claimed responsibility in a video posted on a recently created Telegram channel.
The SITE monitoring service said the group was aligned with Iran and had claimed similar attacks this month in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Later on Monday, about 250 people attended a rally against antisemitism in Golders Green, according to PA.
Police probe
Police said “the arson attack is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime”.
Counter-terrorism officers are leading the investigation, although it has not been confirmed as a terror attack.
“Establishing the authenticity and accuracy of this claim will be a priority for the investigation team,” Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams said.
“CCTV footage appears to show three people in hoods pouring an accelerant onto the vehicles before igniting them and fleeing.”
Rowley said security would be increased around “vulnerable locations” while speaking at the annual dinner of the Community Security Trust.
“Our intent is to reduce the threat, target the offenders, and stop further attacks,” he said.
Reactions
Starmer said on X: “Antisemitism has no place in our society”, and called on communities to stand together after the “horrific news”.
Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said the arson was “so warped it defies words”, adding it was an attack “on this country and on us all”.
Chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said: “We're not going to be intimidated by terrorists, and this was a terrorist attack.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said: “We in Israel care for every Jew everywhere in the world and embrace you at this difficult moment.”
Shomrim North West London described the incident as a “targeted and deeply concerning incident affecting a vital emergency service serving the local Jewish community”.
Volunteer service
The ambulances are operated by Hatzalah, a volunteer organisation.
It provides free medical transport and emergency response services in north London.
“Our... volunteer ambulance corps is an extraordinary service, whose sole mission is to protect life, Jewish and non-Jewish alike,” Mirvis said on X.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said four replacement ambulances would be provided by Tuesday morning.
Similar incidents
Monitoring groups have reported a rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in Britain in recent years, including during the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The Community Security Trust recorded 3,700 anti-Jewish hate incidents across the UK last year, a four per cent rise on 2024, but lower than in 2023.
The most serious was an attack on a Manchester synagogue in October 2025, in which two people were killed and three seriously injured.
The group compared the attack to incidents in Belgium and the Netherlands, including a synagogue attack in Liege on March 9, another in Rotterdam on March 14, and an attack on a Jewish school in Amsterdam the following day. No injuries were reported.
The International Centre for Counter-terrorism said the claim for Monday’s attack was being shared on accounts linked to pro-Iran Shia militias.
It added that this raised “the question whether HAYI is a genuine terrorist group or merely serves as a facade for Iranian hybrid operations that enables plausible deniability”.
(With inputs from agencies)
