Israeli forces on Friday raided the Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of three medical facilities on the northern edge of Gaza, ordering dozens of patients and hundreds of others to evacuate and leaving part of the site on fire, Health Ministry officials said.

Elsewhere in Gaza, Israeli strikes killed at least 25 people, including 15 people in a single house in Gaza City, medics and the civil emergency service said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said contact with staff inside the hospital in Beit Lahiya, which has been under heavy pressure from Israeli forces for weeks, had been lost.

"The occupation forces are inside the hospital now and they are burning it," ministry director Munir Al-Bursh said in a statement.

The Israeli military said it had tried to limit harm to civilians and had "facilitated the secure evacuation of civilians, patients and medical personnel prior to the operation," but gave no details.

Youssef Abu El-Rish, the Hamas-appointed deputy health minister, said Israeli forces had set fire to the surgical department, laboratory and a storehouse.

In a statement published by the official news agency WAFA, the Palestinian presidency called the Israeli act a "serious crime" and a flagrant violation of international law and conventions that require protection for the medical sector and personnel during wars.

The statement called on international health institutions to activate agreements to protect medical personnel, patients and the injured.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday that its troops began the operation against Kamal Adwan Hospital following intelligence indicating the presence of "terrorist" infrastructure and operatives in the area of the hospital, located in Jabalia of northern Gaza.

"Kamal Adwan Hospital serves as a Hamas stronghold in northern Gaza, from which terrorists have been operating throughout the war," the IDF said, adding that despite a targeted operation in October, the hospital revived to serve as a hideout for "terrorists."

Hamas denied its militants were present in the hospital. "We categorically deny the presence of any military activity or resistance fighters in the hospital," Hamas said in a statement.

"The enemy's lies about the hospital aim to justify the heinous crime committed by the occupation army today, involving the evacuation and burning of all hospital departments as part of a plan for extermination and forced displacement." Hamas urged the United Nations to set up an investigation committee "to examine the scale of crime being committed in northern Gaza."

Much of the area around the northern towns of Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya has been cleared of people and systematically razed, fueling speculation that Israel intends to keep the area as a closed buffer zone after the fighting in Gaza ends.

Last major health facility in north Gaza 'out of service'

The Israeli military operation has put the last major health facility in northern Gaza out of service, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement on X.

"Initial reports indicate that some key departments were severely burnt and destroyed during the raid," the WHO said.

The WHO also said 60 health workers and 25 patients in critical condition, including those on ventilators, reportedly remain in the hospital.

The patients in moderate to severe condition were forced to evacuate to the destroyed and non-functional Indonesian Hospital, the UN health agency said, adding that it was "deeply concerned for their safety."

The WHO reiterated its call for a ceasefire. "This raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital comes after escalating restrictions on access for WHO and partners, and repeated attacks on or near the facility since early October," the WHO said. "Such hostilities and the raids are undoing all our efforts and support to keep the facility minimal functional. The systematic dismantling of the health system in Gaza is a death sentence for tens of thousands of Palestinians in need of health care." 

Prior to the raid, Kamal Adwan Hospital was housing around 350 people, including 75 wounded patients and their companions. It is the largest medical facility in northern Gaza, serving over 400,000 people before the ongoing conflict. The Israeli army has blockaded the hospital for more than two months as part of its military operations in northern Gaza.   

Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the enclave has risen to 45,436, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Friday.

(With input from agencies)