A day after conservative activist Laura Loomer posted videos on social media of children coming from Gaza to the US for treatment and questioned the process by which they were getting visas, the State Department said it was blocking all visitor visas for people coming from Gaza pending a review.
The State Department said Saturday that visa service would be paused while it investigates how “a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas” were issued in recent days. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the action was taken after “multiple congressional committees asked questions about this.”
How many visas have been issued?
HEAL Palestine, an American non-profit, has so far brought 148 people (including 63 children) to the US for treatment. They return to the Middle East after treatment.
The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund says the ban will endanger treatment for seriously ill children.
The state of Gaza’s health system
Both WHO and UNICEF have warned that Gaza’s health system is in crisis. Over the past 21 months, more than 17,000 children have died and 33,000 have been injured in Gaza.
WHO reported that in 2024, before the war, 50–100 patients (mostly from Gaza) were being treated outside the hospital each day, but this system is currently on the verge of collapse.