Djeghalian was born in Anatolia. As a toddler, he fled to Syria, disguised as a girl with his mother and uncle as survivors of the
Armenian Genocide, having lost most of his family members. However, his mother died, and Djeghalian was placed in an orphanage in Lebanon. In his teens, he moved to Palestine, where he lived in Jerusalem and Jaffa and trained in photography as an apprentice. Upon marrying Zevart Nakashian in 1944, Djeghalian relocated to Gaza, settling in
Al-Zaytoun, and opened the city's first photography studio named Photo Kegham on
Omar Mokhtar Street. Local families would come to Photo Kegham to have their portraits taken, or hire Djeghalian to photograph events such as weddings and parties. Although he was Christian and barely spoke Arabic at first, Djeghalian integrated well and would enroll his children in Arabic-language schools. Present for the social and political changes the Strip saw through the years, Djeghalian captured Gazan daily life under the British Mandate, Egyptian rule, and Israeli occupation, as well as in refugee camps that came about after the
Nakba. "He was not a photojournalist. He did not work for any publication. He just had this urge to document everything", according to his grandson Kegham Djeghalian Jr. His work includes photographs of buildings and infrastructure, like train stations, that no longer exist. In particular, Djeghalian was able to document events such as the
Khan Yunis massacre and the
Naksa. Notable figures Djeghalian photographed include
Che Guevara during his 1959 trip to Gaza; actor
Yul Brynner; Egyptian leaders
Farouk,
Naguib,
Nasser, and
Sadat; and Indian Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru as Indian troops were serving in the
UN Force. While his family left for Egypt in light of the
1967 Six-Day War, Djeghalian decided to stay in Gaza as "He loved Palestine. He loved Gaza. It was his home." Around that time, Djeghalian worked with other Armenian photographers in the West Bank to send
negatives to
Egyptian intelligence. He earned the nickname Al Musawer Al Fedai (the Guerrilla Photographer). ==Legacy==