Four ambulances belonging to a Jewish volunteer group and parked by a London synagogue were set on fire early Monday – and an Iranian-backed militant group is claiming responsibility for the attacks.
Terror organization Ashab al-Yamin, “the People of the Right” in Arabic, admitted responsibility in a video it purportedly created — and UK counter-terror cops are investigating whether Tehran orchestrated the attacks in the neighborhood of Golders Green, according to the Telegraph.
Israeli embassy sources told the outlet that the firebomb attacks carried out on Hatzola – a volunteer ambulance service—”had the hallmarks of an Iran-backed attack.”
An investigation was underway after multiple ambulances belonging to a Jewish community ambulance service were set on fire in North London early on Monday, March 23.
@ChaskelBennett/XAshab al-Yamin has previously claimed responsibility for attacks on Jewish targets in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Shocking video has since surfaced showing a trio of masked yobs lighting a fire by an ambulance.
Explosions likely triggered by gas canisters on board the ambulances ripped through the neighborhood in an area home to one of London’s largest Jewish communities.
Ambulances parked near the Machzike Hadath Orthodox Jewish synagogue “went up one after the other,” witness Jenny Rodin told Sky News.
Max Reisner arrived at the scene just as one ambulance exploded.
“You sort of felt it go through your guts,” he told Sky as he described the moment.
Surveillance footage showing the moment a trio of masked yobs approach an ambulance before setting it alight. Getty Images“Very terrifying moment to actually see an ambulance go up in flames. We’re all still reeling from the shock.”
Chilling photos showed the burned-out shells of the ambulances once the fires were extinguished.
Shloimie Richman, the chair of Hatzola Northwest, said four of the group’s six ambulances were “deliberately targeted in an arson attack,” as reported by CNN.
A manhunt for the arsonists is underway and Sir Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s Chief Rabbi, described the attacks as a “particularly sickening assault.”
An aerial view of the arson attack. Getty ImagesSecurity fears for the Jewish community have been heightened since Hamas’ cowardly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which saw more than 1,200 people killed and 254 others taken hostage.
The world has also been on high alert for terror attacks since the start of the Iran war — with the Islamic regime threatening last week to target tourist sites everywhere.
“From now on, based on the information we have about you, even parks, recreational areas, and tourist destinations anywhere in the world will no longer be safe for you,” Iranian military spokesman Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi said.
The ambulances were set on fire just five months after two people were killed in a Manchester synagogue terror attack during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Lawmakers from across the UK political spectrum have condemned the attacks.
“This is a deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack,” Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said.
“My thoughts are with the Jewish community who are waking up this morning to this horrific news. Antisemitism has no place in our society.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, the head of the UK opposition party, claimed that a hatred of Jews is “growing” in the UK.
“What kind of person targets Hatzola, a volunteer-run ambulance service? Just last week in Golders Green, members of the Jewish community told me how they live in fear of constant attacks,” she wrote on X.
“The police must find those responsible. A hatred of Jews is growing in our country and all of us need to make it clear in our words and actions that Britain will not tolerate antisemitism.”
