"agreed. so why the hell does the IDF have to slaughter so many,"
It's urban warfare and the casualty rate (combatant/civilian) is roughly 1:2.5.
This is a very low ratio. It'd be even lower if Muslim neighbors (e.g. Egypt) allowed Palestinian refugees into their country.
The cold reality is that civilian casualties will always be high during wars, especially during urban warfare where the civilians don't have anywhere to flee to. I'm actually amazed the ratio is not multiples of 1:2.5 given Hamas tactics and other conditions mentioned above.
