The blast from the missile was so powerful and the child’s body so light and delicate that the two-year-old girl was thrown high into the air, The Telegraph wrote in an article.

One moment, Naama Abu Al-Foul was playing outside her home in Gaza City; the next she was a helpless object in the grip of an explosion. By malign chance, when Naama fell back to earth, she landed squarely on her face.

Her father, Fadi, was himself thrown off his feet by the blast of the Israeli missile detonating in open ground near his home. Then he saw what had happened to his daughter.

“Naama just flew up into the air and then hit the ground hard,” remembered Mr Foul. “Her face was covered in blood and I thought ‘I have lost my daughter. Naama is dead’.”

In fact, Naama had suffered severe concussion and both of her eyes were terribly bruised, but she was alive. Later, when she recovered consciousness, her first words were a weak “ya Allah”, or “oh God”.

When Mr Foul’s wife, Donia, saw the bloodied face of her daughter, she fainted from shock. The woman is expecting another child and, for a moment, Mr Foul feared for her safety. “After what had happened to Naama, I feared my wife would have a miscarriage,” he said. “She was so nervous, she passed out.”

In the moments that followed, Mr Foul, who had suffered minor shrapnel wounds in his legs and shoulder, tried to save his family. His wife was stricken and Naama was lying unconscious. He quickly found his other daughter, one-year-old Habiba, who was terrified but unharmed.

Neighbours came to help and frantic calls were made for an ambulance. But this area of Gaza City was under such heavy bombardment that it was too dangerous for the emergency services to enter. No ambulance came. Eventually Mr Foul, 32, ran along the street and flagged down a passing car.

Naama was then rushed to Shifa Hospital in this ordinary vehicle without receiving any treatment before arrival. She now lies in a paediatric ward where she weeps with pain. At first, Naama was unable to open her eyes and this sudden blindness clearly bewildered and terrified the little girl.

Mr Foul and his wife keep vigil by Naama’s bed and the little girl is expected to make a full recovery. On Thursday, four days after being injured, she opened her eyes for the first time.

Mr Foul’s grief over his daughter’s injury has merged with righteous anger. Israel claims its aggression on Gaza is to target Hamas movement.

“Was my child firing rockets at Israel?” asked Mr Foul. “I’m asking you: what has my daughter done to be injured like this?”

 RA/SHI