Palestinians attempting to flee the area described the scene as a "massacre", as did Mahmoud Abbas, Richard Falk, Norwegian physician Dr. Mads Gilbert and journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous in The Nation.

[3][18] On Wednesday 16 July, Israeli forces dropped leaflets and delivered warnings by phone and text that residents in the Zeitoun and Shujai'iya areas of Gaza City should evacuate ahead of planned strikes.

[19] Hamas had told the civilians to stay put, which were prompted by fears of psychological warfare and perhaps a desire to avoid panic.

[14][15] On Thursday Israel began what it thought of as a limited operation, involving the Nahal, Paratrooper and Givati Brigades, in the Shuja'iyya area's sparsely populated eastern periphery,[20] intent on uncovering Hamas's tunnel system.

In the face of stiff resistance over the following two days, the probing advance developed into a full-scale battle in Shuja'iyya and the surrounding areas, as the IDF suffered upwards of 56 casualties.

[21] On Saturday night, the Golani Brigade was sent in with armoured battalions into the densely populated heart of Shuja'iyya, and suffered heavy casualties.

[20] and only then did Israel decide to increase the intensity of its firepower, resulting in the steep rise in Palestinian civilian casualties, as commanders envisaged a repeat of Dahiya tactics used in Dahieh in Beirut, Lebanon, were resistance to continue.

[25] According to Israeli sources the area had been designed by Hamas, houses had tunnels to hide weapons and combatants and that 10% of rocket attacks had been done from within Shuja'iyya.

Fleeing, as did his son, Tamar and his family and neighbours, was difficult since Israel had destroyed all the electricity towers and the area was shrouded in darkness which had to be traversed under withering fire by the use of cellphone flashlights.

[17] Fierce fighting that lasted into Sunday morning ensued as IDF forces battled Hamas squads, sniper units and teams carrying anti-tank rockets,[17][30] rocket-propelled grenades, and automatic weapons.

During the operation, Hamas fighters targeted the rescue vehicles and engaged in battles with IDF troops as the convoy pulled back.

Three more Israeli soldiers were killed when an anti-tank missile hit a building where the IDF was establishing a command post, setting it on fire.

"[17] The Israeli infantry were ordered to go into protected Namer armored personnel carriers, and given half an hour to do so, after which Hamas positions were targeted by a fierce artillery barrage and airstrikes.

[10] Commenting on the intensity of the firepower, perhaps due to the loss of Israeli soldiers, Tamer Atash later recalled: "The F-16s were no longer up in the sky bombing us, they were flying just above the houses.

"[9]Witnesses interviewed by Max Blumenthal testified observing people jumping from fourth-floor stories as flames engulfed their houses and of men stripping off clothes to cover near-naked women fleeing the scene.

[42] Hundreds of civilians were injured during the unpredictable combination of artillery shelling and airstrikes overnight and only began to leave the area at dawn, many to seek refuge at the Al-Shifa Hospital.

[9][10]: 72 [43] Two paramedics were killed during attempts to enter the area and assist the wounded, and Médecins Sans Frontières complained that its post-operative clinic in Gaza City was running at 10 to 30 percent of capacity due to the intensity of the bombing, which hindered patients from reaching the center.

[44] The following day, the IAF dropped at least 100 one-ton bombs about 250 meters away from IDF ground troops in a broad aerial attack.

[31] Some time after dawn, a one-hour ceasefire was brokered but the International Committee of the Red Cross proved unable to evacuate those trapped in the area.

According to Max Blumenthal, maps discovered later indicated the broad swathe of land where apartments were flattened beyond these houses was defined as a "Soccer Field".

[9] According to one survivor, Mohammed Fathi Al Areer, bullet casings found near the bodies of four of his brothers, one mentally disabled, who were killed in houses east of the "Soccer Field", suggested they were executed.

His father survived, but a cousin, Salem Shamaly (22), a grocer at the local market who attempted to find missing family by returning to the neighbourhood during the two-hour ceasefire at 3:30pm that day, was shot three times, while calling out the names of family members, after crossing the imaginary red line Israeli soldiers are reported to have drawn to kill anyone coming close to their positions.

[47] According to a former IDF sergeant turned activist,[clarification needed] Eran Efrati, who has stated he took testimony from three Israeli soldiers present at the scene, a sniper asked his commandant three times if it was ok to shoot Shamaly, and was given permission when the latter stepped beyond the line.

[7] According to the spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Ashraf al-Qidra, rescue teams retrieved more than 80 dead bodies from houses destroyed in Shuja'iyya, 17 of which were children, 14 women and 4 elderly people.

[60] When U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was overheard sarcastically remarking on Fox News on July 20 that the operations in Shuja'iyya were "a hell of a pinpoint operation,” according to Mark Perry, his comments reflected U.S. military assessments of a battle in which Israel's use of 11 artillery battalions was equivalent to what the U.S. deployed for 2 divisions, or even a full corps.

The only explanation for adopting the massive firepower unleashed by a mix of Soltam M-71 and Paladin M109 guns was, according to one U.S. military expert, "to kill a lot of people in as short a period of time as possible,” adding that, “It’s not mowing the lawn.

[62] As a result of its investigation into the battle, part of a general inquiry into the Gaza war, the UN Commission concluded that, there are strong indications that the IDF’s Shuja’iya operation on 19 and 20 July was conducted in violation of the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks and may amount to a war crime[10]A deputy company commander in the Golani Brigade responded by saying "The claim that the IDF acted immorally is an untrue statement, and our situation in Shujaiyeh is the best example of this.

She added that Muslim and freedom-seeking nations in the world would undoubtedly give an "unforgettable lesson" to the Israeli government on Friday's International Quds Day in support of the Palestinian resistance against Israel.

[citation needed] Canada: Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird told reporters: "We mourn the death of every single innocent civilian.

"[68] UN: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the attack on Shejaiya "an atrocious action","Israel must exercise maximum restraint and do far more to protect civilians.”.