I started to pull on the strips and immediately noticed they had holes in them, and they quickly broke. I had to do what a few others here said - I used the opening tool as a lever to pry the battery out. Yes, the battery ended up getting bent out of shape, but I got it out. I only worried about puncturing the battery, thankfully that didn’t happen.

Why is it even necessary to put these adhesive strips down? I’ve never seen any other product with a battery require that you tape/glue the battery in place.