The US government said on Saturday it was halting all visitor visas for people from from Gaza while it conducts "a full and thorough" review.

"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," the State Department, headed by Marco Rubio,  wrote on X.

The move comes after far-right influencer Laura Loomer posted claims on social media that some Palestinians issued with medical-humanitarian visas to the US were "pro-HAMAS ... affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and funded by Qatar," without providing evidence.

Her posts were written after the US-based charity HEAL Palestine last week said it had brought 11 critically wounded Gazan children, together with their caregivers and siblings, to the US for medical treatment.

What did Loomer write?

Loomer holds no official position but has shown a significant power to influence the Trump administration and the Republican party, among other things bringing about the sacking of several senior US security officials after claiming they were disloyal to the president.

She is known for spreading far-right conspiracy theories, such as claiming that the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US were an inside job and that the Parkland high school shooting and the Santa Fe High School shooting were staged.

"Truly unacceptable," Loomer wrote of the issued visas in one X post. "Someone needs to be fired at @StateDept when @marcorubio figures out who approved the visas."

 "Qatar transported these GAZANS into the US via @qatarairways," she said, adding that Qatar was "literally flooding our country with jihadis."

She also shared videos of badly wounded Palestinian children arriving in the US this month with their families, claiming that they were uttering "jihadi chants," whereas they seemed rather to be shouting out with joy that they had arrived safely.

Several of the posts targeted HEAL Palestine, which said it had carried out "the largest single medical evacuation of injured children from Gaza to the US" with its transport.

Republican support, charities dismayed 

Republican Congressman Randy Fine praised Loomer after the visa change was announced.

"Massive credit needs to be given to @LauraLoomer for uncovering this and making me and other officials aware. Well done, Laura," Fine wrote on X.

However, the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, another US-based charity, called on the Trump administration to "reverse this dangerous and inhumane decision."

"This policy 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 — a mission that has defined our work for more than 30 years," it said in a statement.

"Medical evacuations are a lifeline for the children of Gaza who would otherwise face unimaginable suffering or death due to the collapse of medical infrastructure in Gaza," it said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations also condemned the move to suspend visas, calling it another sign of the "intentional cruelty" of the Trump administration.

Gaza's medical infrastructure has been devastated amid the Israeli offensive triggered by a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken.

According to Gaza health officials, more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive.

Edited by Jenipher Camino Gonzalez