The U.S. State Department announced on Saturday it was halting all visitor visas for Gazans, pending a “full and thorough review” of the issuing process.
According to a Reuters analysis, the department issued more than 3,800 B1/B2 visitor visas, which permit foreigners to seek medical treatment in the United States, to holders of the Palestinian Authority travel document so far in 2025.
The department added that a “small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas” had been issued in recent days, without disclosing a figure.
All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we 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.
— Department of State (@StateDept) August 16, 2025
The Gaza Strip has been war-torn ever since its Hamas rulers launched a cross-border attack on Israel’s northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023, murdering roughly 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 more into the enclave.
The Israel Defense Forces has been fighting in the Strip for 22 months in a bid to free the hostages and vanquish the terrorist group.
According to U.S. aid group HEAL Palestine, since the start of the war, it assisted in the evacuation of 148 Gazans to the United States for medical care, Politico reported.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that Israel was holding conversations with a number of countries to voluntarily resettle Gazans.
Citing a senior Israeli official on the matter, CNN reported on Thursday that five countries—South Sudan, Somaliland, Ethiopia, Libya and Indonesia—were included in negotiations on the subject.
