Twelve people were injured after a fire broke out before dawn Monday at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan.
The blaze started on the fifth floor of a tower in the hospital’s massive campus.
Twelve firefighting teams were dispatched to battle the blaze and to conduct search and rescue operations inside the burning building.
Firefighters were quickly able to contain the blaze and later extinguished the fire.
Two patients being treated in the affected building were injured during the blaze. One victim suffered serious injuries and was transferred to the hospital’s burns ward while unconscious and on a respirator. The second victim suffered light injuries.
Four hospital staff members suffered very slight injuries from smoke inhalation, with six firefighters also being treated for light injuries caused by smoke inhalation.
A hospital spokesperson said that a preliminary investigation into the fire found that the blaze was likely sparked by a cigarette.