Julia was not physically harmed. She’s wearing a sweater and jeans, her hair tied up in a bun with bright blue floral headbands. But his expression was cautious.

Muhammad then started telling the story behind the photo.

The family has been displaced five times in the last 21 days. Each time they were dodging air strikes and gunfire.

They heard that an Israeli drone had broadcast an evacuation warning the day the photo was taken.

This was the Al Halufa region where the IDF was advancing against Hamas.

“There was random artillery fire. “We went towards the center of the Jabalia refugee camp on the road to the checkpoint.”

He carried family clothes, canned goods, and a few personal items.

At first everyone was together. Julia’s father, mother Amal, 15-month-old brother Hamza, grandfather, two uncles and a cousin.

But amidst the chaos, Mohammed and Julia were separated from the others.

“I was separated from his mother because of the crowd and the belongings we were carrying. He was able to leave and I stayed put,” Muhammad said.

Father and daughter continued on, following the flow of people who eventually came out. The streets smelled of death. “We saw the destruction and the bodies scattered on the ground,” Mohammed said. There was no way to stop Julia from seeing at least some of it. After more than a year of war, children have become accustomed to the images of violent deaths.

The group reached the Israeli checkpoint.

“There were soldiers on the tanks, and there were soldiers on the ground. They approached people and started shooting over their heads. “During the conflict, people were pushing each other.”

The men were ordered to strip down to their underwear. This is a routine procedure in which the IDF searches for hidden weapons or suicide bombers. Mohammed said they were held at the checkpoint for six to seven hours. In the photo, Julia looks calm. However, his father later remembered his distress.

“She started screaming and told me she wanted her mother.”

The family is reunited. Displaced people are squeezed into small areas. Family ties are tight. When relatives arrive from Jabaliya, the news spreads quickly in Gaza City. Julia was comforted by the people who loved her. There were sweets and potato chips stored there.

Later, Mohammed told our colleague about the deep trauma that Julia had experienced before that day when they fled from Jabalia to Gaza City. He had a cousin whom he loved very much. His name was Yahya and he was seven years old. They used to play together on the street. About two weeks ago, Yahya was on the street when the Israelis launched a drone strike. The child was killed.

“Life used to be normal. He would run and play,” he said. “But now, whenever there is bombardment, I point and shout ‘plane!’ “He looks up and points to the drone flying above us while we’re trapped.”