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Jewish ambulances torched in suspected hate crime in UK

By AAP Newswire

Mar 23, 2026

Firefighters respond to a fire in Golders Green, London — Authorities are investigating anti-Semitic arson attacks on a Jewish ambulance service in London. -AP

Police in London are investigating a suspected anti-Semitic hate crime after vehicles belonging to a Jewish ambulance service were set on fire.

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Officers were called to Golders Green, a London neighbourhood with a large Jewish population, early on Monday after receiving reports of a fire.

Four ambulances belonging to Hatzola Northwest, a volunteer organisation that provides emergency medical response, were damaged, according to the London fire brigade.

Cylinders on the vehicles exploded, causing windows to break in an adjacent block of flats, it said, adding that no injuries have been reported and the fire has been brought under control.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

"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.

She said the police were looking for three suspects but no arrests had been made yet.

Police said reports of explosions were linked to gas canisters on the ambulances.

Nearby homes were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Mark Reisner, a witness who lives in the neighbourhood, heard loud explosions and arrived at the scene "just as the third ambulance was blowing up", he told Sky News.

"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 non-profit organisation that operates a neighbourhood watch in the area, condemned the attack.

"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," it said in a post on X.

The number of anti-Semitic incidents reported across the UK has soared since the start of the Israel-Hamas War in late 2023, according to the Community Security Trust, which works to protect the Jewish community.

The group recorded 3700 in 2025, up from 1662 in 2022.

In October 2025, an attacker drove his car into people gathered outside a Manchester synagogue to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and stabbed one person to death.

Another person died during the attack after being inadvertently shot by police.