US halts visitor visas for Gazans

The US State Department announced on Saturday that it has temporarily halted all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza.

The official reason for the pause is to conduct a "full and thorough review" of the process used to issue what the department described as a "small number" of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days.

The move follows a political outcry that began on Friday when far-right activist Laura Loomer, an ally of President Donald Trump, claimed on social media that Palestinian “refugees” had recently entered the United States.

Her statement sparked immediate outrage among some Republican lawmakers, with US Representative Chip Roy of Texas and Representative Randy Fine of Florida describing the situation as a "national security risk".

The visa category in question, known as B1/B2, permits foreigners to seek medical treatment in the US.

An analysis of State Department figures reveals that more than 3,800 of these visas have been issued to holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents since the start of the ‘Israeli’ aggression, with 640 issued in May alone.