By Isabel Infantes and Hannah McKay
LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) – Four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community organisation in north London were set ablaze overnight in what British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called “a deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack”.
The London Fire Brigade, which sent six fire engines and 40 firefighters to the scene, said multiple cylinders on the vehicles exploded, causing windows to shatter in an adjacent apartment block. No injuries were reported.
The SITE Intelligence website said an Iran-aligned multinational militant collective called Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand had claimed responsibility for the attack near a synagogue in Golders Green.
It said the group had been behind similar fires in Belgium, Greece and the Netherlands.
STARMER CONDEMNS ANTISEMITISM
Starmer described the incident as deeply shocking.
“My thoughts are with the Jewish community who are waking up this morning to this horrific news,” he said on X. “Antisemitism has no place in our society.”
Israel’s embassy in Britain said antisemitism was rampant in London and said the firebombing of ambulances was the consequence of years of hate being tolerated in plain sight.
“Enough is enough,” the embassy said on X. “There must be a thorough investigation and decisive action to put an end to this climate of intimidation before it spirals further. Silence and inaction are no longer an option.”
ATTACKS ON JEWISH TARGETS HAVE RISEN WORLDWIDE
The ambulances belonged to Hatzola, a not-for-profit volunteer organisation that responds to medical emergencies.
Attacks against Jewish people and targets have risen worldwide since the October 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel that triggered the Gaza war, and Starmer had warned that the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran would stoke tensions further.
He said in early March that the government would work with Muslim and Jewish organisations to ensure that sensitive sites had appropriate security.
Britain has recorded significantly higher levels of antisemitic hate since the 2023 attack, with the most severe incident a 2025 attack in Manchester that killed two Jewish worshippers during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Mark Gardner, chief executive of the Community Security Trust, which advises Britain’s estimated 290,000 Jews on security matters, said the fires had an “obvious parallel to similar recent anti-Jewish arson attacks in Liege, Rotterdam and Amsterdam”.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the attack and said police patrols would be increased in the area.
London’s Metropolitan Police said officers remained at the scene and that the arson attack was being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.
The London Fire Brigade said the fire was under control by 0306 GMT.
(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru and Sam Tabahriti in London; Writing by Andy Bruce in Manchester and Kate Holton in London; Editing by Tom Hogue, Shri Navaratnam and Alison Williams)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.