On September 23, Saudi forces stormed a farmhouse outside Jizan's "King Fahd Hospital", leading the militants inside to flee to the neighbouring apartment complex where they had been allowed to live by a married couple who worked as pharmacist and doctor in the hospital. Inside, the militants took doctors and nurses hostages, and carried them to the roof of the building. Authorities used loudspeakers to warn the 3000 residents of the building to remain in their apartments and avoid windows, and began firing tear gas and assaulting the housing compound.