British police warned Monday that an arson attack that destroyed four Jewish community ambulances at a synagogue in north London could be upgraded from an “antisemitic hate crime” to a terrorist incident. Photo by Andy Rain/EPA
March 23 (UPI) — Police in London said Monday they were treating the torching of four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community charity overnight as an “anti-Semitic hate crime.”
The London Fire Brigade, which deployed six engines and 40 firefighters to the incident in the Golders Green area of north London, said gas cylinders inside the Hatzola Trust ambulances exploded, shattering windows in nearby residential properties.
No one was hurt, but at least 34 people were evacuated, the fire department said.
Footage circulating online showed three people, purported to be the suspects, approaching one of the ambulances before setting it alight.
Metropolitan Police Superintendent Luke Williams said the investigation was being led by counter-terrorism officers, but had not yet been declared a terrorist incident.
Williams said he believed CCTV that showed “three people in hoods pouring accelerant onto vehicles before igniting it” was of the suspects police were hunting.
He said the Met was investigating a claim of responsibility made online by a group as a priority.
Earlier, an Iran-aligned militant network calling itself the Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand said it carried out the attack.
CNN said the ambulances were parked outside a synagogue when they were attacked.
Charlie Richards, a local resident, said she heard “multiple explosions,” and shared video she took on her phone that CNN said was of a large, orange fireball and smoke billowing into the sky.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it a “horrific anti-Semitic attack” and called for unity, while Health Secretary Wes Streeting promised the government would temporarily loan ambulances to Hatzola and pay for new ones to replace those destroyed.
“The Jewish community should not be left footing the bill for this appalling attack on a brilliant ambulance service,” said Streeting.
The volunteer-run, non-profit, Hatzola received the King’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2023.
Golders Green is home to one of London’s largest Jewish communities with many synagogues, schools and kosher restaurants.
Attacks on British Jews have been on the rise since the war in Gaza sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
Monday’s incident comes just over two weeks after counter-terrorism police in London arrested four Iranian men on suspicion of conducting surveillance for Iranian intelligence of individuals and locations linked to the Jewish community in the capital.
In October, two people were killed and three seriously injured in a terror attack on a synagogue in Manchester. The attacker, Jihad Al Shamie, was shot dead by police at the scene. At least one other person has been charged in connection with the attack and several others have been arrested.
In February, a court sentenced three British men to a total of 69 years in prison for planning a terrorist attack on the Jewish community in Greater Manchester.
Founder of the Women’s Tennis Association and tennis great Billie Jean King (C) smiles with representatives after speaking during an annual Women’s History Month event in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX in Statuary Hall at the U.S .Capitol in Washington on March 9, 2022. Women’s History Month is celebrated every March. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
