Shebaa

Not to be confused with Shebaa farms or Shabaa.

Shebaa (Arabic: شبعا, French: Chebaa) is a municipality on the south-eastern tip of Lebanon. It has a largely Sunni Muslim population of 25,000 people. It is situated at an altitude of approximately 1,700 m (5,600 ft) above sea level, spreading across two steep rocky mountainsides.^[1] It lies adjacent to the contested Shebaa farms—which sit between the town and the Golan Heights.^[2] Before 1967, residents of Shebaa farmed in the disputed Shebaa farms territory.^[3]

Shebaa shown in an early 20th-century German map

Shebaa شبعا
Municipality
Shebaa, in 1998
Shebaa Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°20′55″N 35°44′55″E
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	Nabatieh Governorate
District	Hasbaya District
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Dialing code	+961

History

Chebaa, in the 1880s^[4]

In 1838, Eli Smith noted Shebaa's population as being Sunni Muslim and Greek Orthodox Christians.^[5]

Following the 1982 Lebanon War, Shebaa became part of Israel’s security zone with Norwegian soldiers from UNIFIL stationed in the area. On one night in late January 1989, the Israeli backed SLA expelled 40 villagers, ordering them not to return. This brought the total over a period of several months to around 80. In the words of the UNIFIL spokesperson those expelled were “mostly women and children”.^[6] Israel withdrew from South Lebanon, including the town of Shebaa, in 2000.

As of 2025, the town housed 1.5 million Syrian refugees.^[7]

Demographics

In 2014, Muslims made up 96.96% and Christians made up 2.89% of registered voters in Shebaa. 92.99% of the voters were Sunni Muslims. The Christian population is mostly Greek Orthodox.^[8]

Educational establishments

Educational establishments	Chebaa (Hasbaiya) (2005–2006)	Lebanon (2005–2006)
Number of schools	4	2788
Public schools	2	1763
Private schools	2	1025
Students in public schools	435	439905
Students in private schools	145	471409