The UK's terror threat level has been raised from substantial to severe after two Jewish men were attacked in the northern London neighborhood of Golders Green on Wednesday.

"Today, the national threat level has increased to 'severe,' which means a terrorist attack is considered highly likely," British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in a statement on Thursday.

"I know this will be a source of concern to many, particularly amongst our Jewish community, who have suffered so much," she added.

The increase in threat was not solely a result of the Golders Green attack, said the Joint Terrorism Analysis Center, an intelligence body that determines the national terrorism threat level in the country.

The terror threat level has been rising in the UK for some time, driven by an increase in "the broader Islamist and Extreme Right Wing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups based in the UK," the center said.

The UK uses five levels to grade the level of peril and "severe" is the second highest-level of threat.

Britain last faced such a level after the bombing at Liverpool Women's Hospital and the killing of lawmaker David Amess in 2021. The threat level was lowered to substantial, meaning an attack is likely, in February 2022.

Attack heightens concerns among Britain's Jewish community

The attack which left two Jewish men, aged 34 and 76, seriously injured was declared a terrorism incident, and a 45-year-old man remains in police custody. The two men injured are in stable condition.

The attack took place in Golders Green, which is home to a large Jewish community. The attack is the latest in a series of incidents targeting Jewish services and sites in recent months.

Keir Starmer vows to take measures to 'stamp this hatred out'

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was in Golders Green earlier on Thursday, said his government will do "everything in our power to stamp this hatred out."

Starmer's government earlier said the country was facing an antisemitism emergency and pledged to increase measures to tackle the threat.

The government will invest a further £25 million (€28 million; $33 million) in increased police patrols and security to keep Jewish communities safer and fast-track a law to give authorities stronger power to target state-sponsored proxy groups. 

But Starmer was also met with a group of protesters holding signs saying "Keir Starmer, Jew harmer" as they voiced their anger against the government for not having taken measures to protect Jews from rising antisemitic violence in the country.

Edited by: Rana Taha