Police in London are investigating what appears to be an arson attack on several ambulances from a Jewish volunteer service, saying they are treating it as an antisemitic hate crime.
The attack early Monday took place in Golders Green, a north London suburb that is home to several synagogues and dozens of Jewish schools and restaurants.
It damaged four vehicles belonging to the volunteer organization Hatzola Northwest, with “multiple cylinders on the vehicles” exploding, causing windows to break in nearby buildings, the London Fire Brigade said in a statement.
The police also said they were aware of explosions linked to the gas canisters onboard the ambulances.
Social media videos verified by NBC News showed massive flames rising from the ambulances as they burned, with the fire sending up thick plumes of smoke. Another video showed an explosion erupting as firefighters worked to douse the flames.
No injuries were reported, Metropolitan Police Superintendent Sarah Jackson said in a statement, adding that police are examining CCTV footage.
“We believe we are looking for three suspects at this early stage,” she said. There have been no arrests so far.
The fire brigade said it received the first of 56 emergency calls around 1:40 a.m. (9:40 p.m. ET Sunday) and dispatched six fire engines and around 40 firefighters to the scene.
The fire was brought under control shortly after 3 a.m. local time, it said.
Nearby houses have been evacuated as a precaution, the police said.
“We will be engaging with faith leaders and carrying out additional patrols in the local area as we continue our investigation to provide reassurance and a highly visible presence,” Jackson said.
Hatzola Northwest was established as a nonprofit organization in 1979 to provide free emergency medical services to residents of North London. According to its website, it works closely with national emergency services and area hospitals and responds to thousands of calls a year, “from minor injuries to life-threatening conditions.”
The number of antisemitic incidents reported in Britain has surged since the Israel-Hamas war began in late 2023, including attacks on synagogues. The Community Security Trust, a British charity that works to protect the country’s Jewish population, recorded 3,700 incidents in 2025, compared with 1,662 in 2022.
In October, two people were killed and three seriously injured when a man rammed a car into a crowd and stabbed people at a synagogue in Manchester, England, in what police declared a terrorist attack.
About 15,000 people live in Golders Green, half of whom are Jewish, according to 2021 census data.
