Four men plead guilty to Jewish ambulance arson

Four young men pleaded guilty on Friday to charges stemming from an arson attack that destroyed four ambulances belonging to a Jewish volunteer emergency service in north London, an incident prosecutors described as a premeditated and targeted attack against the Jewish community. Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, Judex Atshatshi, 18, and Saif Ali, 18, admitted to a charge of destroying or damaging property while being reckless as to whether life would be endangered at the Old Bailey.

The attack occurred in the early hours of March 23, 2026, in Golders Green, a neighbourhood with a significant Jewish population. The four ambulances, operated by the charity Hatzola, were parked near a synagogue when three of the men set them on fire while a fourth waited in a getaway car. The blaze caused gas canisters inside the fully stocked vehicles to explode, resulting in approximately £1 million in damage. The fire also damaged nearby flats, a synagogue, and four electrical charging stations.

Prosecutors told the court there was significant evidence the incident was a premeditated attack against the Jewish community. Evidence presented at an earlier hearing indicated that web searches for...