London authorities are treating the deliberate burning of four emergency medical vehicles as a suspected hate crime targeting the Jewish community.
The incident unfolded in the early hours of Monday in Golders Green, an area known for its substantial Jewish population, when emergency responders received calls about a vehicle fire.
The targeted ambulances belonged to Hatzola Northwest, a volunteer emergency medical organization that serves the local community. London fire officials confirmed all four vehicles sustained damage in the blaze.
Gas cylinders mounted on the ambulances detonated during the fire, creating powerful explosions that shattered windows in a nearby apartment building, fire department officials reported. Authorities confirmed no one was hurt in the incident and firefighters successfully extinguished the flames.
Investigators are working to determine what sparked the fire, according to official statements.
“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.
Jackson revealed that authorities are seeking three individuals in connection with the incident, though no one has been taken into custody at this time.
The explosive sounds residents reported came from gas tanks stored on the medical vehicles, police confirmed. Officials temporarily relocated nearby residents as a safety precaution.
Local resident Mark Reisner witnessed the destruction firsthand, telling Sky News he heard powerful blasts and reached the location “just as the third ambulance was blowing up.”
“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.”
Shomrim, a community safety organization that monitors the neighborhood, strongly denounced the incident. “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,” the group posted on social media platform X.
Antisemitic incidents throughout the United Kingdom have dramatically increased since the Israel-Hamas conflict began in late 2023, data from the Community Security Trust shows. The organization, which monitors threats against Jewish communities, documented 3,700 such incidents in 2025, a significant jump from 1,662 recorded in 2022.
In a separate incident last October 2025, an assailant used his vehicle to strike people celebrating Yom Kippur outside a Manchester synagogue before fatally stabbing one person. A second individual died when police accidentally shot them during the response.
