U.S. Suspends Entry Visas for Palestinian Medical Evacuees from Gaza Amid Mounting Criticism
The U.S. State Department announced Saturday that it has temporarily halted the issuance of visitor visas for Palestinians from Gaza seeking urgent medical treatment in the United States, pending a "full and thorough review" of its approval process. The move comes as Gaza's only health care infrastructure is collapsing under ongoing Israeli military operations, with international organizations warning that thousands of critically ill patients now risk losing access to life-saving care.
The policy suspension follows unverified claims spread by far-right commentator Laura Loomer linking some recent medical evacuees to groups labeled “pro-Hamas” or with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. These allegations quickly gained traction among several Republican figures, including Congressman Randy Fine, who labeled the visas a “national security risk” and pressured the administration to change course.
Mounting Human Impact as Medical Evacuations Stall
The abrupt halt threatens to strand hundreds of Palestinian children and adults in Gaza with acute injuries or illnesses that no local hospitals can treat. According to the World Health Organization, some 12,500 Gazans urgently require evacuation for complex medical needs—including trauma injuries, cancer, and chronic conditions—for which care is simply not available in the besieged enclave.
Non-governmental organizations facilitating the evacuations report a surge in urgent cases. Heal Palestine, a leading medical charity, says it has evacuated 148 patients so far in 2025, including 63 children. On August 4, the group organized its largest-ever medical transfer, bringing 11 critically injured children and their caregivers to the United States for extended treatment.
The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, which has helped children from conflict zones access care for more than three decades, warned the policy will “strip children of their most basic right to access medical care,” and called for an immediate reversal.
"It is deeply ironic that the Trump administration would ban Palestinian children seeking treatment while rolling out the red carpet for racists and indicted war criminals from the Israeli government."
— Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), via X
Political and Social Reactions
U.S. officials cite the need to review security vetting procedures for all humanitarian visa recipients thoroughly. “The review is intended to ensure that all individuals entering the U.S. pose no national security threat and that the humanitarian process is not abused,” a State Department spokesperson told Middle East Eye, without providing details on the length or scope of the review.
Republican supporters, amplifying Loomer’s unsubstantiated claims on social media, have called for adding Gazans to existing travel bans targeting several Middle Eastern countries. Loomer herself wrote: “They are not that sick if they can sit on a plane for 22 hours,” drawing swift condemnation from patient advocates and civil rights organizations.
Rights groups such as CAIR labeled the review “intentionally cruel” and “the latest example of the Trump administration’s complicity with Israel’s genocide,” alleging that such moves fit a pattern of U.S. policy favoring Israeli officials and interests over Palestinian civilians’ rights. “This is collective punishment for some of the most vulnerable people in the world,” a CAIR spokesperson said in response.
Medical Evacuees in, The Numbers and the Need
Official figures indicate the scale of demand for humanitarian medical visas. The U.S. has issued more than 3,800 B1 and B2 visitor visas so far in 2025 to holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents. In May alone, 640 visas were granted, primarily to facilitate access to American hospitals for the injured and their family caregivers.
Medical evacuation organizations contend that both humanitarian agencies and U.S. authorities rigorously screen most, if not all, beneficiaries before departure. Heal Palestine and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund cite the critical shortage of functioning hospitals in Gaza—now with none fully operational—as justification for urgent external care.
“This will cost lives. I’ve told parents in Gaza, sometimes the only thing I can offer is hope—and now, even hope is running out.”
— Dr. Fadi Al Qadi, Medical Director, Heal Palestine
Gaza’s Collapsing Healthcare System
Since the escalation of Israeli bombardment in October 2023, Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure has steadily deteriorated, with direct hits on hospitals, power outages, and restrictions on aid compounding the crisis. The WHO underscores that no hospital remains fully functioning and that patients with cancer, kidney failure, heart conditions, and serious injuries are especially endangered.
The latest visa halt could not come at a worse time, many medical groups say. They warn that trauma from shrapnel, burns, amputations, and preventable infection cases are rising fast among children—cases that few, if any, facilities in Gaza can handle. For some children, evacuation is the only option for survival.
International Law and Humanitarian Norms
Humanitarian law experts noted that the move may challenge international norms and conventions on the right to medical care, particularly for children and civilians in conflict zones. The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund has criticized Washington’s move as not only a breach of medical ethics but as setting a troubling global precedent.
Observers fear the new policy could encourage other countries hosting Palestinian evacuees to follow suit, thus narrowing all options for desperate families and reinforcing the isolation of Gaza’s civilian population.