Ambulance arson attack: what we know so far – The Latest

Summary

Podcast Summary: Today in Focus – Ambulance Arson Attack: What We Know So Far – The Latest

Date: March 24, 2026
Host: Nosheen Iqbal
Guest: Dan Boffi (The Guardian’s Chief Reporter)
Episode Focus:
A detailed breakdown and analysis of the recent arson attack on four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity in Golders Green, London. The episode explores the facts of the case, possible links to an emerging group, the broader context of international tension, and the impact on local communities.

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Main Theme & Purpose

The episode provides listeners with the latest verified information on the arson attack targeting ambulances owned by a Jewish charity in North London. The discussion focuses on what is known about the incident itself, emerging claims of responsibility by a new group, broader patterns of antisemitic attacks, and the effects on local and national community cohesion.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Happened: Facts of the Incident

[01:41] – [02:45]

• At 1:45am on Monday, three hooded individuals set fire to four ambulances parked by the Marziq Hard Synagogue on Highfield Road, Golders Green (North London).
  • CCTV footage shows the attackers pouring accelerant on rags, placing them around the vehicles, and then fleeing after lighting them.
  • The subsequent explosions — caused by oxygen cylinders — were powerful enough to smash windows and singe carpets in nearby flats.
• Notably, this was a deliberate, dramatic act targeting one of Britain’s largest Jewish communities.
  • No injuries reported, but significant property damage and a strong psychological impact.

Notable Quote:

“Enormous explosions. They smashed windows in the local flats and singed carpets.”
– Dan Boffi [00:46]

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2. Investigation & Responsibility Claims

[02:45] – [04:41]

• Counterterrorism police are investigating, but have not yet designated it a terrorist incident.
• Intense speculation surrounds a new group, with much recent reporting about “Harakat Al Shab, Al Yamin Al Islamia” (abbreviated as HAY).
  • This group emerged publicly in Europe on March 9, after an explosion outside a synagogue in Liège, Belgium.
  • Their links to Iran are suggested due to dissemination of videos and claims on pro-Iranian Telegram channels; however, the credibility of some of their claims in Europe is questionable.
  • Some supposed attacks they claim credit for seem not to have happened at all (e.g., a supposed incident in Greece unknown to local authorities).
• The group’s activity is primarily through a Telegram channel and branded materials.

Notable Quote:

“It could be that they were behind this Golders Green attack. It could be that they’re just claiming they’re behind this Golders Green attack. It could be that they have nothing to do with it whatsoever.”
– Dan Boffi [04:44]

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3. Broader Context: Iranian-Linked Plots & Copycat Claims

[04:44] – [06:07]

• Since 2024, at least 20 Iranian-backed plots have been foiled by UK security services.
  • These are often carried out by proxies — “organized crime groups of people who are some distance away from Iran itself, not necessarily Iranian.”
• HAY’s claimed attacks share a pattern:
  • Explosions near synagogues, Jewish schools, and now ambulances — no injuries, but dramatic and destabilizing.
  • Their stated warnings are to avoid “Zionist organizations” and are apparently intended to stoke fear and division.

Notable Quote:

“They’re all very dramatic, all very destabilizing for the local communities, but no one’s been killed. The warnings that this organization has given is: stay away from Zionist organizations, rich people stay away from these areas. So try to create a distance... within British society, try to create division.”
– Dan Boffi [05:33]

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4. Community Impacts: Fear, Division & Resilience

[06:07] – [08:33]

• Golders Green is home to a large, longstanding Jewish community.
  • Despite resilience and seemingly “normal” life resuming after attacks, the psychological toll is profound.
  • There’s a sense of vulnerability among Jewish residents, especially as attacks have escalated in frequency and severity recently.
  • Previous incidents included graffiti (“blood red Gaza written across synagogues”), further fueling anxiety.
  • The violence could have easily resulted in casualties, showing the attackers’ indifference to potential harm.

Notable Quote:

“All the antisemitic attacks we’ve had, they really do go to the heart of the community… It makes you feel extremely vulnerable. And this one particularly because it is a violent act. Okay, no one was hurt, but it’s very dramatic. Someone could easily have been hurt.”
– Dan Boffi [06:37]

• Wider Political Context:
  • The host notes that this is happening amid ongoing wars involving Israel, Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza, and “tensions are playing out here” in London.
  • Community cohesion is under threat, with the rise in antisemitism, Islamophobia, and far-right sentiments.
  • A large protest in London is planned to counter these trends over the coming weekend.

Notable Quote:

“Anti Semitism is on the rise. Islamophobia is on the rise. Racism, the rise of the far right, full stop. It’s incredibly sort of difficult to process.”
– Nosheen Iqbal [08:33]

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5. Reflections on Journalism & the Future

[09:11] – [09:49]

• Dan Boffi reflects on the challenges of reporting on divisive events:
  • Importance of “constantly talk[ing] to people, trying to understand and explain and get across their views.”
  • Recognizes the current mood as “depressing and demoralizing,” with neighboring communities increasingly at odds.

Notable Quote:

“It’s very difficult to be writing this sort of stuff constantly. It’s horrible to see groups, community groups who lived side by side, jail by jowl, so wonderfully well, sort of suddenly at each other’s throats. And yeah, the solution, God knows.”
– Dan Boffi [09:11]

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Notable Quotes (with Attributions & Timestamps)

• Dan Boffi [00:46]:
  “Enormous explosions. They smashed windows in the local flats and singed carpets.”
• Dan Boffi [04:44]:
  “It could be that they were behind this Golders Green attack. It could be that they’re just claiming they’re behind this Golders Green attack. It could be that they have nothing to do with it whatsoever.”
• Dan Boffi [05:33]:
  “They’re all very dramatic, all very destabilizing for the local communities, but no one’s been killed. The warnings that this organization has given is: stay away from Zionist organizations, rich people stay away from these areas. So try to create a distance... within British society, try to create division.”
• Dan Boffi [06:37]:
  “All the antisemitic attacks we’ve had, they really do go to the heart of the community… It makes you feel extremely vulnerable. And this one particularly because it is a violent act. Okay, no one was hurt, but it’s very dramatic. Someone could easily have been hurt.”
• Nosheen Iqbal [08:33]:
  “Anti Semitism is on the rise. Islamophobia is on the rise. Racism, the rise of the far right, full stop. It’s incredibly sort of difficult to process.”
• Dan Boffi [09:11]:
  “It’s very difficult to be writing this sort of stuff constantly. It’s horrible to see groups, community groups who lived side by side, jail by jowl, so wonderfully well, sort of suddenly at each other’s throats. And yeah, the solution, God knows.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:41 – 02:45]: Facts of the arson attack in Golders Green
• [02:45 – 04:41]: Introduction of and investigation into HAY group, links to Iran
• [04:41 – 06:07]: Broader patterns of antisemitic attacks and foiled plots
• [06:07 – 08:33]: Community reaction, impact on local Jewish community, wider political tensions
• [08:33 – 09:49]: Broader issues: rise in hate crimes, far-right activity, role of journalism

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Tone and Critical Reflections

• The episode reflects a measured, analytical tone, balancing the need to inform with the need to avoid speculation.
• Both host and guest adopt a serious, empathetic stance regarding the realities faced by targeted communities.
• The broader message is one of caution—urging listeners not to jump to conclusions about responsibility, and to recognize the complex, toxic environment of rising hate and global tension.

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Summary

This episode of Today in Focus provides a clear, journalistically grounded analysis of the recent antisemitic arson attack in North London. While offering the latest details, it highlights the emerging but poorly understood role of claimants like HAY, the shadowy nature of international and proxy-linked terrorism, and—most powerfully—the devastating impact such crimes have on local communities and broader social cohesion in a turbulent geopolitical moment.

Transcript

[Noshi Nikbal]

This is the Guardian.

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[Dan Boffi]

Enormous explosions. They smashed windows in the local flats and singed carpets.

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Today's a dark day for London.

[Dan Boffi]

This is an anti Semitic hate crime.

[Noshi Nikbal]

There has been a lot of feverish reporting. We're hearing a lot about this new group.

[Dan Boffi]

It could be that they were behind this goble screen attack. It could be that they're just claiming they're behind this golden screen attack. It could be that they have nothing to do with it whatsoever. All the anti Semitic attacks we've had, they really do go to the heart of the community. They really do impact on people. It creates anger and fear and division. It's very difficult.

[Noshi Nikbal]

Counterterrorism police are investigating an arson attack on four ambulances owned by a Jewish charity in London. Reports suggest that it could be linked to Iran. What do we know so far from the Guardians today? In focus, this is the latest. With me, Noshi Nikbal. Joining me today is the Guardian's chief reporter, Dan Boffi. Dan, thank you so much for joining us.

[Dan Boffi]

Thank you.

[Noshi Nikbal]

Now, we're here today to talk about this incident which occurred in the early hours of Monday morning in which four ambulances belonging to the Jewish charity Hatzola north west were set ablaze in Golders Green in North London. Police are investigating it, as are the security services. Dan, what do we know about exactly what happened?

[Dan Boffi]

Quite a bit, because we have CCTV footage of the incident. So we know that at 1:45am Monday that three hooded people approached the four ambulances which were parked by the synagogue, the Marziq Hard Synagogue on Highfield Road in Golders Green. They appear to have poured accelerant on rags, placed them strategically around the four ambulances and then done a runner as they lit them. Whether it was professional, I'm not sure because they did seem quite alarmed by the speed at which the ambulances set alight. And what we had from there was enormous explosions because the oxygen cylinders exploded to the extent that it smashed windows, the local flats and singed carpets and created quite the drama.

[Noshi Nikbal]

So counter terror police are investigating it, but they haven't actually designated it a terrorist incident as of yet. But there has been a lot of feverish reporting. We're hearing a lot about this new group and I'll just check my notes. They're called Harakat Al Shab, Al Yamin Al Islamia or Hay. And there's a lot of talk about how this alleged Islamic sleeper cell has actually been behind this attack and several others in Europe in recent weeks. Now, as far as we can see, the police and the Netherlands have dismissed the claims as disinformation. British security services have yet to confirm the group's claims as being credible. Dan, what do we know, if anything about what this group is and where it's come from?

[Dan Boffi]

I mean, quite little because they only seem to emerge on 9 March when there was an explosion outside a synagogue in Liege in Belgium. The authorities seem sort of quite confident that Hayee, as I'll call them, were involved in that and that the video footage they produced of it came very quickly out. The claim that they're Iran linked comes from the fact that they disseminate their videos and their claims on pro Iranian Shia militia telegram channels, pro Iranian regime channels. And it's because of speed at which in certain instances where they've been linked, they're able to get video out. And these attacks are happening in the early hours of the morning warning and they're getting video out very, very quickly in some occasions that people feel confident, okay, this organization seems to have some kind of real time link to these operations. But then there are other operations where it seems where they've made claims. I think there were seven now incidents around Europe where they've made claims which look very spurious. I mean, one in Greece, we're not even sure there was any incident at all. The Greek authorities don't seem to know about an incident involving an anti Semitic attack. But this organization says, yep, we've done this. So anyway, they've come out, they have a telegram channel, they have a logo.

[Noshi Nikbal]

So they've established themselves on Telegram, which is a messaging app.

[Dan Boffi]

Yeah, I mean, and that's all we know they really have. It could be that they were behind this golden screen attack. It could be that they're just claiming they're behind this golden screen attack. It could be that they have nothing to do with it whatsoever. But still somehow Iran or Tehran, the planners in Tehran are somehow behind it. It's often the case. We've had at least 20 Iranian backed plots foiled by the security services in the UK since 2024. And it's often proxies, it's sort of organized crime groups of people who are some distance away from Iran itself, not necessarily Iranian who are involved in this. So with responsibility, claims, responsibility, you've really got to be very. It's very difficult to absolutely tie them together.

[Noshi Nikbal]

And what kind of claims are we talking about? What would these proxies be doing? What kind of things have been foiled?

[Dan Boffi]

Well, all the seven claims that I'm aware of, they're very similar. So the explosions outside synagogues, explosions outside Jewish schools, and as we had in Golders Green, these ambulances, no one's been hurt in any of them. They're all very dramatic, all very destabilizing for the local communities, but no one's been killed. The warnings that this organization they've given is stay away from Zionist organizations. Rich people stay away from these areas. So try to create a distance, I suppose, within British society, tries to create division.

[Noshi Nikbal]

Right. And Dan, I mean, as we've established, there's not a lot of evidence at this point, so I'm sort of loathe to speculate further. But what we do know is that this was a targeted arson attack in one of the country's biggest Jewish communities. It is an anti Semitic hate crime. It's deliberate, it's frightening and you know, as you say, it's. It terrifies the people who are living there. And I wonder if you've spoken to residents and just to give us an understanding of how people are feeling and responding.

[Dan Boffi]

Yeah, I know Golden's Green very well. My school's not too far from that from there and I worked in the McDonald's at Golders Green after school on the weekends. So I know Goldsgreen very well. And like many parts of London, when horrible things like this happen, you'll see no difference on the streets. It makes no difference. People carry on in their lives. But this sort of thing is extremely troubling. You know, all that, all the antisemitic attacks we've had in recent years, they really do go to the heart of the community. They really do impact on people. I have lots of friends from the Jewish community who really, only the first time in their lives in recent years, they've seen this. They've had blood red Gaza written across synagogues and it makes you feel extremely vulnerable. And this one particularly because it is violent act. Okay, no one was hurt, but it's very dramatic. Someone could easily have been hurt. They had absolutely. Clearly those behind it had no compunction about safety. They weren't too worried if someone was hurt. So yes, extremely, extremely troubling. You don't see it obviously, but people will lose sleep over this and of

[Noshi Nikbal]

course, all of this is happening while Israel's fighting wars in Iran, in Lebanon, the situation in Gaza is far from over and resolved. And while those conflicts feel quite far away from some, London is a global city and those tensions are playing out here. And lots of communities now feel very vulnerable. And I just want to know how you think or have seen how it's affecting community cohesion.

[Dan Boffi]

Yeah, I mean, it's horrible. We shouldn't even really be talking about these two things in the same breath. You know, what Israel's doing in Iran and what's happening to the Jewish. But it's inevitable that we do because tensions are heightened. It does create tensions between communities. What happens around the world does have that impact. And this is just particularly toxic. That's the horrible consequences of things like this. It creates anger and fear and division. It's very difficult.

[Noshi Nikbal]

And Dan, as you say, a lot of these communities do feel vulnerable. They're not monoliths, don't all have the same opinions and views and politics. And it has become cliche to say that we're living in febrile times, but we really are. Anti Semitism is on the rise. Islamophobia is on the rise. Racism, the, the rise of the far right, full stop. It's incredibly sort of difficult to process. There is a massive protest planned in London to counter all of that this weekend. As our chief reporter, how do you go about assessing the political temperature of the country and how do you think these issues may resolve?

[Dan Boffi]

I think all journalists can do is talk to people constantly talk to people trying to understand and explain and get across their views and bring a critical mind to everything that people say and do as to how the tensions in this country are going to be resolved. We're a small part of a huge problem at the moment and it all feels quite depressing and demoralizing. It's very difficult to be writing this sort of stuff constantly. It's horrible to see groups, community groups who lived side by side, jail by jowl, so wonderfully well, sort of suddenly at each other's throats. And yeah, the solution, God knows.

[Noshi Nikbal]

Dan, thank you so much for your time.

[Dan Boffi]

Thank you.

[Noshi Nikbal]

That's it for today. My huge thanks again to Dan Boffi. Thanks for listening to this episode of the latest Today in Focus. We'll be back with you as usual tomorrow morning and we'll be back tomorrow night. In the meantime, I would highly recommend listening to Off Duty, which is a new seven part series from Guardian Investigation Gates with reporter Melissa Segura. In 2011 a Chicago police officer was murdered. Police identified four suspects. Three confessed, but the fourth refused to break. He embarked on a 12 year battle to prove his innocence against a system that refused to admit it might be wrong. Subscribe to the Guardian Investigates feed or listen wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was presented by me, Noshi Nikbala. The producers were Bryony Moore and Nicola Alexandru, the senior producer was Ryan Ramgobin and the lead producer was Zoe Hitch.

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