Ain Ebel

[11] On the outskirts of the village is an area called Chalaboune where Ernest Renan, a French historian and philosopher who was sent by Emperor Napoleon III to Lebanon, found ancient graves.

[12] According to Renan, Ain-Ebel had beautiful underground passages and large buildings in colossal stones and admirable carved sarcophagi in two remarkable places, Douair and Chalaboune, which he believed was the Biblical town of Shaalabbin of the Tribe of Dan.

[14] In 2011 and after months of negotiation, the Musée du Louvre agreed to make an exact replica of the bas-relief, which was delivered to the municipality of Ain Ebel in November.

[16] In his book, Salut Jerusalem: Les memoires d'un chretien de Tyr a l'epoque des Croisades, the Lebanese historian, Bechara Menassa, wrote that the people of Ain Ebel were in touch with the Crusaders in Toron, modern Tebnine.

[17] By the mid-nineteenth century, Ain Ebel had become the principal village of Christianity in the Upper Galilee, and in 1861 it was chosen for the first religious retreat organized in the Holy Land where 55 priests from the archdioceses of Tyre and Acre gathered for a reunion.

The people are Christians, and they cultivate silk and tobacco... A poor Maronite priest in his black robes and dark blue turban, came up to me, and, leaning on his staff, represented the sad story of his village (Ain Nebel) the day before, when of the subordinate officers of Tamar Bek, going round to inspect the Christians in their compulsory and unpaid labour at the lime-kilns, and finding the work of one of the men not equal to the task exacted, shot him dead on the spot.In 1875 Victor Guérin visited, and noted 800 Maronite and 200 Greek Orthodox villagers.

[22] The first recorded presence of a medical facility in the village dates back to 1909, when Dr. Suleiman Effendi Hajj established Ain Ebel as his base of operations for five years.

During this time, he helped the local population become more receptive to doctors, raise awareness about microbes, learn about health practices, become highly focused on infection prevention, and provide care for both the elderly and children.

[31] The survivors fled south to Haifa until French ships took them back to Tyre where General Gouraud promised the Maronite Patriarch to punish those who had caused the massacres and destruction.

[38] During World War II, the Vichy French had a line of widely spaced blockhouses that stretched from the coast to the inland heights, reaching Ain Ebel.

[46] A week later on May 1, 1988, Monsignor Albert Khreish, who was head of the Maronite Spiritual Affairs Court, and nephew of Cardinal Anthony Peter Khoraish, was found dead in the pine forest outside of Ghazir.

[52][53] Residents of Ein Abel informed Human Rights Watch investigators that Hezbollah had declared several fields "off limits" to the locals following the Israeli withdrawal in 2000, later using these areas to construct military installations.

[54] Elias Hasrouni, a veteran Lebanese Forces official, was first thought to have died in a car crash on Sunday, August 6, 2023, but an autopsy later revealed that he was killed and many, including Samir Geagea, believed the murder was politically motivated.

[55] Samir Geagea declared Hasrouni's death an assassination, pointing the finger at Hezbollah as the crime occurred deep within areas controlled by them but that accusation was never proven .

[63] The Saint-Joseph and Saints-Cœurs Schools closed amid the war after three of their students were killed on November 5 on the road between Aitaroun and Ain Ebel by an Israeli strike.

[67][68] As residents prepared for a subdued Christmas under the shadow of the ongoing conflict, United Nations peacekeeping handed out toys on Saturday, December 23 to some 250 children whose families had remained in Ain Ebel and in the nearby villages of Rmaich and Debel.

[70] At least 800 people from Ain Ebel sought refuge in the border town of Rmeish on October 2, 2024, where they stayed until the papal nuncio and the patriarchate coordinated an evacuation to Beirut that was escorted by the Lebanese army.

[71][72] Three weeks after the ceasefire took effect on November 27 to end the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, villagers from southern Lebanon, including the people of Ain Ebel, started to return to their homes.

[73] Located in the mountainous region of southern Lebanon, known as Belad Bechara[74] in Jabal Amel, or the Lebanese Upper Galilee, Ain Ebel occupies several hills with elevation ranging from 750 to 850 meters above sea level.

[9] The village has a Mediterranean climate [75] and enjoys four seasons with autumn and spring being mild but rainy, winter being cold and sometimes snowy and summer being dry and very pleasant with average temperatures between 25–27 °C (77–81 °F).

In January 2023, perennial oak trees were illegally cut down in the western woods of the town, and while the culprit, a resident of Ayta ash Shab, was arrested, he was believed to be close to Hezbollah and was eventually released by a decision from the Nabatieh Public Prosecutor.

Relief with Apollo and Artemis , Louvre, found at Kh ed Doueir, just north of Ain Ebel
Ain Ebel in winter
Saint Joseph School
Our Lady of Ain Ebel
Cardinal Anthony Peter Khoraich