The United States has suspended the issuance of temporary humanitarian visitor visas for patients from Gaza, drawing sharp criticism from Palestinian rights organizations.
In a statement, the State Department said the pause was necessary to conduct a “full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days.” The move comes as Gaza’s medical system remains crippled by nearly three years of war and widespread shortages of food, medicine, and essential supplies.
The decision has sparked alarm among humanitarian groups. The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), which coordinates treatment for critically ill children abroad, warned that the suspension “will have a devastating and irreversible impact on our ability to bring injured and critically ill children from Gaza to the United States for lifesaving medical treatment.” According to PCRF, the group has evacuated 169 children in 2024 alone for specialized care in the Middle East, Europe, South Africa, and the US.
The policy shift followed public criticism from far-right activist Laura Loomer, who took to X (formerly Twitter) to denounce the visa program and urged the Trump administration to shut it down. Loomer later claimed credit for the suspension and publicly thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio for “temporarily halting the visas.”
The suspension highlights the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the territory has faced relentless bombardment and blockades that have devastated its health infrastructure. Humanitarian groups say Israel’s restrictions on aid since March have deepened food insecurity, with UN-backed agencies warning that famine is imminent.
International media organizations, including the BBC, Reuters, and the Associated Press, have also sounded alarms about starvation, noting that their journalists on the ground face the same dire conditions as the civilians they cover.
While President Donald Trump acknowledged in July that there was “real starvation” in Gaza, his administration has stood firmly behind Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Critics argue that halting visas for Gaza’s most vulnerable patients further undermines humanitarian relief at a time of acute crisis.
