Chronicles of the Ongoing
“During the Israeli escalation in Lebanon in the fall of 2024, I found myself in a state of freeze mode, feeling alert and paralysed at the same time. It wasn’t until after the ceasefire on 27 November 2024 that I felt more able to document the war's impact on people's lives.
I started by meeting with friends and asking them about their experience of the war, particularly regarding turning points such as the beginning of the war in October 2023, the rising tensions culminating in the summer and the anticipation of an Israeli ground invasion, the pager attacks in September 2024, the massive Israeli bombing campaign on 23 September 2024, the killing of Hassan Nasrallah in a series of airstrikes on 27 September 2024, and the daily bombings that followed until the ceasefire, which few believed in at the time—rightfully so.
During the escalation, looking at data such as dates, maps, and infographics helped me process the overwhelming scale of the war. I recalled the events chronologically with my friends, asking them where they were, how they felt and reacted during the war, and how they are feeling now with the ongoing assaults despite the ceasefire.
It is my way of connecting with them and getting a sense of the collective struggle through individual perspectives.” – Ségolène Ragu
After the ceasefire was set on November 2024, residents of Ghobeiry returned to retrieve their personal belongings and follow up on the reconstruction of their building, damaged by Israel’s relentless strikes over the past months. Beirut, Lebanon, 3 December 2024.
Christine, photographed in Beirut, Lebanon, on 12 March 2025. When Israel carried out the pager attacks on 17 September 2024, her fear reached its peak.
"I felt we were heading towards something horrible, even though the situation was already unacceptable. I was in a taxi at the time and heard countless ambulances. People were panicking, and the atmosphere was overwhelmingly loud," she says.
The roof of ‘The Shelter,’ an event space turned into a refuge for displaced migrant workers at which the photographer volunteered during the war, in Beirut, Lebanon, on 13 December 2025. Plastic sheeting and used boxes were used to hold the leaking roof in place.
“Solidarity among the people is what kept our communities going,” says the photographer. |
Ameen, photographed in Beirut, Lebanon, on 9 March 2025.
“I met Ameen during the war. Laura, he, and I live in the same neighborhood, which made it easy for us to meet and share moments together. On the night of the ceasefire, we stayed together until it was declared at 4 a.m. One of the few good things to come out of this war was meeting new photographer friends—people with whom we could support each other, share our fears, and reflect on our questions,” – Ségolène Ragu |
A man stands on a pile of rubble, next to what remains of his living room curtains, in Beirut, Lebanon, on 3 December 2024. After Israel struck a building in Ghobeiry, he and his neighbors began returning daily to check on what used to be their home. |
Hiba, photographed in Beirut, Lebanon, on 3 February 2025. Last summer, she and her family, originally from Burj el Barajneh, stayed in the mountains. When the escalation started, they decided to stay there until the ceasefire. During all this time, while Hiba worked online and made vlogs to keep in touch with her friends, her mother had to go to Beirut every day for work—an experience that made her feel anxious. |
Hussein, a friend of the photographer, loves the design and calligraphy of this calendar hanging on his front door, which shows the date of 20 February 2021.
“It looks as if he hasn’t used it in any functional way since, but rather kept it as a decoration, frozen in time.” Beirut, Lebanon, 5 February 2025. |
“Three days before the ceasefire, my aunt, who lives in Hadath, invited me and my cousin over for lunch. This is where she and my uncle had spent most of their time as the escalation unfolded, hearing bombings day and night. When the IDF issued an evacuation warning targeting a nearby building, my aunt encouraged me to stay, to detach myself from the fear.” Beirut, Lebanon, 24 November 2025. |
On 26 November 2024, in the final hours before the ceasefire, Israel carpet-bombed Lebanon. In Dahieh, they leveled 20 buildings in a matter of minutes, one of them located next to a school, already damaged by Israeli strikes in 1996 and 2006. Beirut, Lebanon, 29 November 2025.
The photographer’s uncle cleans the balcony, with a view of Northern Beirut in the background, in Ballouneh, Lebanon, on 4 October 2025. Part of her family decided to move to the mountains after the IDF killed Hezbollah’s secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah in a series of airstrikes using bunker-buster bombs that leveled two residential blocks and killed at least 30 people on 27 September 2024.
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Ségolène Ragu is a French-Lebanese photographer focused on long-term projects that explore societal issues, memory, and the impact of crises and wars on everyday life in Lebanon. She collaborates with French and international media outlets, including Libération, NZZ, La Croix, Orient XXI, La Vie, and Dagens. She is also a member of Middle East Images and Diversify Photo Up Next.
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World Press Photo has partnered with the Samir Kassir Foundation to offer a free masterclass program for photojournalists based in Lebanon. The masterclass’s objective is to develop and guide photographers with 4-8 years of experience in their practice, placing special emphasis on building skills for long and sustainable careers in photojournalism, documentary photography, and beyond. Moreover, this course is designed to help photographers based in Lebanon reach the international community, providing guidance on diverse topics such as safety, research, photo ethics, writing, legal requirements, pitching, career development, and avenues for publishing.
See more work by Samir Kassir Foundation Masterclass participants here
