Where the high hills of the occupied West Bank tumble into the Jordan valley, half a dozen heavy Israeli diggers pound the ancient rocks around the Palestinian village of Bardala.

West Bank residents say Israeli forces are adopting tactics similar to the ones they are deploying in Gaza, including airstrikes and the use of Palestinians as human shields.

The three northern areas were home to around 400,000 people before the war began last year; at least half remained before the new offensive, a figure the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service estimated was now down to 80,000 people who it said were stuck without rescue teams or a fully-functional hospital.