2026 Hatzola arson attack
Multi-vehicle arson attack in London, England
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In the early hours of 23 March 2026, four Hatzola ambulances were set on fire in Golders Green, North London. There were no injuries. Five male suspects have been arrested and three charged.
 | |
| Date | 23 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Time | c. 1:40 a.m. (GMT) |
| Location | Highfield Road, Golders Green, North London, England |
| Type | Arson |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 0 |
Incident
On 23 March 2026, at around 1:40am GMT, four Hatzola ambulances on Highfield Road, Golders Green, North London were set on fire. There were no injuries and the fire was put out at 3:06 am GMT.[1][2][3] An accelerant had been poured on the ambulances parked on the property of Machzike Hadath, an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, and the vehicles were set ablaze by a group of three hooded arsonists, destroying three of the vehicles and seriously damaging a fourth.[4] Windows were broken in a nearby apartment block due to explosions from oxygen cylinders within the ambulances.[5] Six fire engines and 40 firefighters tackled the blaze.[5] The ambulances were part of a fleet consisting of five ambulances and an unknown number of fast response cars belonging to Hatzola Northwest Trust, a non-profit established in 1994 and run by Jewish volunteers that provide emergency medical treatment to area residents.[6]
Investigation
The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand (Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya), a group has which previously claimed involvement in attacks against Jewish sites throughout Europe, claimed responsibility for the London attack.[7] SITE Intelligence Group has called the group an "Iran-aligned multinational militant collective". The Metropolitan Police indicated that they could not confirm the authenticity of the claim or verify that the arson was indeed a terrorist attack, but said that the incident was being investigated by Counter Terrorism Policing.[8] On 25 March, The Wall Street Journal reported that investigators believe the Islamic Movement of the Righteous Companions is a fictitious organisation created by Iran to give it plausible deniability and confuse investigators [9]
On 25 March, two men aged 45 and 47, who are UK nationals, were arrested by the Metropolitan Police. Their homes in Kilburn and King's Cross were searched, along with two additional properties in North London. They were released on bail the next day.[10] Early on 1 April, three more arrests were made at separate addresses: a 17-year-old British-Pakistani dual national, and 19- and 20-year-old British men.[11] On 4 April at Westminster Magistrates' Court, a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old from Leyton and a 17-year-old boy from Walthamstow were charged were charged with arson and remanded. A further suspect, a 19-year-old man, was arrested at the court.[12]
The Metropolitan Police later announced a wider crackdown on antisemitic hate crime across London, making more than 20 arrests.[13][14] Police also increased patrols to protect sites connected to the local Jewish community.[15]
Reaction
The attack was condemned by British political leaders. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer said that the attack was "a horrific antisemitic attack" and that he had been in contact with Jewish community leaders.[5] The Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch said that "all of us need to make it clear in our words and actions that Britain will not tolerate antisemitism".[5] The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan described the attack as "cowardly" and said that "Londoners will never be cowed by this kind of hatred and intimidation".[5] The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting said that the government will fund four replacement ambulances, and will loan National Health Service ambulances to the charity while replacements are sought.[16]
Ephraim Mirvis, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, called the attack a "particularly sickening assault" on an organisation "whose sole mission is to protect life, Jewish and non-Jewish alike".[17] The Jewish Leadership Council said that it was "particularly sickening that someone's hatred of Jews drives them to target vital ambulance services".[5]
The council chair of the British Medical Association, Tom Dolphin, said that attacks on healthcare services were "reprehensible" and antisemitism was "abhorrent".[5]
Al Jazeera journalists reporting from the scene on 23 March were angrily confronted by a group of Jewish people, including a Met Police special constable, who demanded they leave and insulted them in Arabic.[18]