Counterterrorism police leading the investigation into a suspected antisemitic hate crime attack on four Jewish community ambulances are looking into claims an Islamist group with possible Iranian state links is behind it.
The vehicles were set ablaze during the early hours of Monday in Golders Green, north London, with CCTV showing three hooded suspects pouring accelerant over the ambulances, which belong to the community service Hatzola.
A manhunt is currently underway, with the Metropolitan Police stating the incident was not currently being treated as terrorism.
A Telegram channel seen by The Independent purporting to be the official channel of an Islamist group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, whose name translates to the Islamic Right-Wing Movement, appeared to claim responsibility for the attack in a video shared to the channel early on Monday morning.
Speaking on Monday evening at the annual dinner of the Community Security Trust, a charity that monitors antisemitism in the UK, Sir Mark Rowley, head of the Metropolitan Police, said the “rapid growth in recent years of Iranian state threats is grave”, but it was “too early” to attribute the attack to the Iranian state.
He said: “We believe three suspects were involved and we are pursuing all lines of inquiry, including an online claim of responsibility by an Islamist group who have claimed other attacks across Europe and have potential Iranian state links.”
Earlier, Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams, who leads policing for the area, said investigators were aware of a group apparently claiming responsibility for the attack online, but had not yet verified whether this is true.
Sir Keir Starmer called for communities to “all stand together” in the face of the “horrific antisemitic attack”, while Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said the targeting of the volunteer service was “particularly sickening”.
The prime minister said: “Antisemitism has no place in our society and it’s really important that we all stand together at a moment like this.”
Police will give extra support for key Jewish locations around Golders Green, both for the coming days and leading up to Passover in early April, while the government has pledged to replace the destroyed ambulances.
Health secretary Wes Streeting, who visited the scene on Monday, said: “The aim of these attackers is clear.
“They want Jewish people in this country to live smaller lives, to live less Jewish lives, to be less visible as Jewish people, to fear going about Jewish life.”
He added: “I know that the Jewish community will not be cowed by this despicable act of evil, but it is the responsibility of the rest of us not to be bystanders.
This is a deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) March 23, 2026
My thoughts are with the Jewish community who are waking up this morning to this horrific news.
Antisemitism has no place in our society.
Anyone with any information must come forward to the police. https://t.co/P5J1ETaEsE
“Every decent person in this country needs to stand up and speak up against this vile antisemitic hatred.”
Home secretary Shaban Mahmood told the Community Security Trust dinner on Monday night that the attack was “so warped it defies words”.
Gas canisters kept in the ambulances exploded after they were set alight at the site in Highfield Road, Golders Green, northwest London, around 1.45am on Monday, but no injuries have been reported.
Nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution and road closures in the area remain in place.
On Monday evening, Commander Helen Flanagan, head of the Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: “We’re aware this attack has caused a great amount of concern amongst the Jewish and wider community in the area, but I want to reassure the public that we have officers working around the clock to identify those responsible.”
Residents described being woken in the early hours by the noise, with the force of the explosions blowing out windows, including those of the nearby synagogue.
Speaking to The Independent, a passerby, Dov Forman, 22, said he was relieved his great-grandmother and Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert was no longer alive to witness the incident.
“My great-grandmother was an Auschwitz survivor,” he said. “She moved to this country after the Holocaust to rebuild her life. She rebuilt from the ashes.
“She lived directly opposite the site of the attack, and she would have been completely devastated because it would have completely shattered that thought that the UK was a safe place for her and her family to live.”
Sir Ephraim said in a statement on X: “The deliberate arson attacks against Hatzola ambulances in London are a particularly sickening assault – not only on the Jewish community, but on the values we share as a society.
“Our Hatzola volunteer ambulance corps is an extraordinary service, whose sole mission is to protect life, Jewish and non-Jewish alike.
“The targeting of Hatzola by people so committed to terror, hatred and the desecration of life is a most painful illustration of the ongoing battle between those who sanctify life and those who seek to destroy it.
“At a time when Jewish communities around the world are facing a growing pattern of these violent attacks, we will meet this moment with shared resolve and stand together against hatred and intimidation.”
Hatzola, which was established in 1979 and is run by volunteers, provides free medical transportation and emergency response to those living in North London.
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said it was a “cowardly attack on the Jewish community” and insisted “Londoners will never be cowed by this kind of hatred and intimidation”.
Peter Zinkin, who represents the Golders Green ward on Barnet Council, told the Press Association that his “initial response is shock and horror as you would expect, but the second response is a deep and overwhelming sadness that this has happened”.
Fellow councillor Dean Cohen said: “It is a despicable act, not only to attack the Jewish community, but to attack ambulances, ambulances that are there to save lives day in, day out, 24/7, is a new low.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury condemned the “appalling antisemitic attack”, while the British Medical Association (BMA) criticised “deliberate attacks on healthcare services” as “reprehensible”.
Damon Hoff, president of Machzike Hadath Synagogue, where the ambulances were parked, said the community was “feeling vulnerable and feeling frightened”.
Jewish leaders met the prime minister in Downing Street on Monday afternoon, with Michael Wegier, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, saying Jews in the UK feel less safe now than a few years ago.
Keith Black, chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, told the Press Association: “Jews don’t feel as safe as they should.”
He added: “We’ve seen identity politics turn violent and, for one reason or another, Jews are caught in the crossfire.”
On Monday night, more than 250 people have attended a rally against antisemitism in Golders Green with people waving the Israeli flag and leading chants like “no to Jew hate”.
The latest official figures on hate crime recorded by police in England and Wales showed Jewish people had the highest rate of religious hate crimes targeted towards them of any faith group.
Two worshippers were killed in a deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester in October 2025, while in a separate investigation earlier this month two men were charged with allegedly spying on Jewish people and locations for Iran.
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