UK police investigate apparent antisemitic attack after a Jewish charity's ambulances set on fire

Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the "deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack.

“My thoughts are with the Jewish community who are waking up this morning to this horrific news," he said.

Officers were called to Golders Green, a London neighborhood with a large Jewish population, after receiving reports of a fire, the Metropolitan Police force said.

Four ambulances belonging to Hatzola Northwest, a volunteer organization that provides emergency medical response, were damaged, according to the London Fire Brigade.

Multiple gas cylinders on the vehicles exploded, causing windows to break in an adjacent apartment block. Nearby homes were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

The cause of the fire is being investigated, authorities said. Police said they are looking for three suspects but no arrests have been made yet.

“We know this incident will cause a great deal of community concern and officers remain on scene to carry out urgent enquiries,” Police Superintendent Sarah Jackson said.

Mark Reisner, who lives in the neighborhood, heard loud explosions and arrived at the scene “just as the third ambulance was blowing up," he told Sky News.

“A very loud explosion, you sort of felt it go through your guts,” he said, adding, “it's just left us all reeling with confusion and shock."

Peter Zinkin, who represents Golders Green on the local council, said he felt “shock and horror as you would expect, but the second response is a deep and overwhelming sadness that this has happened.”

Shomrim, a nonprofit organization which operates a neighborhood watch in the area, condemned the attack. “This was not only a criminal act of arson, but a targeted and deeply concerning incident affecting a vital emergency service serving the local Jewish community,” it said in a post on X.

The number of antisemitic incidents reported across the U.K. has soared since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in late 2023, according to the Community Security Trust, which works to protect the Jewish community. The group recorded 3,700 incidents in 2025, up from 1,662 in 2022.

In October 2025, an attacker drove his car into people gathered outside a Manchester synagogue to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and stabbed one person to death. Another person died during the attack after being inadvertently shot by police.

Last week two men in London were charged with carrying out “hostile” surveillance last year of the U.K.’s Jewish community on behalf of Iran.