Gabriel states that during the war, she and her family were forced to live in an underground shelter for seven years, lacking basic amenities such as sanitation, electricity, or running water. She recounts being aided by Israeli forces during Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, stating that Israeli medical staff treated individuals regardless of their religious or political affiliations. Describing the experience, Gabriel said: “Each patient was treated solely according to the nature of his or her injury. The Israelis did not see religion, political affiliation, or nationality. They saw only people in need, and they helped.”

Relocation to Israel and Early Career

After fleeing the conflict, Gabriel lived in Israel from 1984 to 1989. She enrolled in a business administration program through the Young Women’s Christian Association. In 1986, she began her media career under the pseudonym Nour Semaan as a news anchor for Middle East Television (METV), an Arabic-language Christian broadcasting network. During her tenure, she anchored the station’s Arabic-language evening news, World News.

Gabriel later married an American colleague and emigrated to the United States. There, she established a television production and advertising company while embracing her new homeland. Reflecting on her journey, she said, “I lost Lebanon, my country of birth, to radical Islam. I do not intend to lose my adopted country, America.”

Books and Public Statements on Islam

Gabriel is known for her outspoken views on Islam and terrorism. Her two books, Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America and They Must Be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It, have drawn criticism for generalizing an entire religion. Publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post described her works as presenting alarmist portrayals of Islam. Gabriel maintains that her focus is on "radical Islam" rather than Islam as a whole, yet critics argue that the tone of her writing and public speeches often conveys a broader condemnation.

In 2009, Gabriel stated that "Islam promotes intolerance and violence" and called for moderates within the Muslim community to lead reform efforts similar to those undertaken in Christianity and Judaism. She has referred to extremist ideologies as a “cancer called Islamofascism” and erroneously cited intelligence services estimating radicals make up 15 to 25 percent of the global Muslim population—an assertion debunked by the Christian Science Monitor.