Disaster in Gaza: Israeli soldiers set fire to Kamal Advan hospital

The Israeli military previously said the hospital was being used by Hamas fighters as a base, although it did not provide evidence of this, AP reported.

The Gaza Ministry of Health said that Israeli soldiers set fire to several departments of the Kamal Advan Hospital, including the laboratory and surgery departments.

The Israeli army, for its part, said that only a small fire broke out in the empty hospital building and that it was not aware that it was caused by its attacks, according to AP.

The Israeli army surrounded the building of the Kamal Advan hospital, one of only a few functioning health facilities in the northern Gaza Strip, and ordered staff and patients to evacuate, hospital staff announced earlier today.

Hospital staff confirmed this information to CNN and added that the army ordered people to leave the hospital building and go to the courtyard of the complex.

The Israeli military attacks Kamal Advan Hospital daily and has stormed the facility at least six times since Oct. 5, Palestinian sources told CNN earlier this month.

Four doctors were killed at the hospital after Israeli forces stormed the compound, killing and wounding dozens of people in surrounding areas, witnesses told CNN in early December.