British counterterrorism police are investigating the torching of four ambulances in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Golders Green in north London. 

The ambulances were operated the Jewish volunteer-led ambulance service Hatzola. 

Police will also deploy 264 extra officers to protect the Jewish community, Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley said late on Monday. 

London emergency services who were called to reports of a fire on Monday morning found four vehicles belonging to the Jewish Community Ambulance service destroyed.

The incident, which sparked panic after several explosions were heard, comes amid a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in late 2023.

What do we know about the ambulance fires?

Police and fire crews were called to the scene in Golders Green, a London neighborhood with a large Jewish population, at about 1:45 a.m. local time (01:45 GMT/UST) early on Monday.

Metropolitan Police said oxygen canisters cylinders on the ambulances exploded. The windows in a nearby residential building were shattered, though no injuries were reported.

Nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution.

The attack occurred in the car park of a local synagogue, where Hatzola's vehicles were parked.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the torching of the vehicles was a "deeply ​shocking antisemitic attack."

"My thoughts ⁠are ​with the ​Jewish community who ​are waking ‌up this morning to this ​horrific ⁠news," said Starmer. "Antisemitism has ⁠no ​place in our society."

Starmer said on Monday evening that the ambulances would be temporarily replaced by Tuesday, with the National Health Service eventually providing permanent replacements.

Police treating attack as a hate crime

London's Metropolitan Police confirmed the incident was being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.

Counter Terrorism Policing is leading the inquiry into the incident, police said, even though it was not yet determined to be 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 at the scene.

Who is behind the arson attacks on the ambulances?

Williams said CCTV footage showed appeared "to show three people in hoods pouring an accelerant onto the vehicles before igniting them and fleeing."

A group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, meaning the Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand, claimed responsibility for the attack in a video posted on its Telegram channel. 

The group, which the SITE monitoring service said was aligned with Iran, has also claimed similar attacks this month in Belgium and the Netherlands.

In an update on Monday evening, Metropolitan Police said it was "aware of an online claim from a group taking responsibility for the attack and enquiries are ongoing to establish the authenticity and accuracy of this claim."

How much have antisemitic incidents increased in the UK?

Antisemitic incidents reported across the UK have soared since late 2023, according to the Community Security Trust, which works to protect the Jewish community.

The group said 3,700 incidents were recorded in 2025, up from 1,662 in 2022.

Last October, an attacker drove his car into people outside a Manchester synagogue on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and then stabbed a person to death. Another person who was accidentally shot by police died during the attack.

Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher and Louis Oelofse