Earlier this month, the arrival of three children from Gaza at San Francisco International Airport was meant to be a moment of hope. The children, aged between 6 and 15, arrived in the Bay Area to receive pro bono treatment at local hospitals for burns, malnourishment, and injured limbs. Their journey, coordinated by the Ohio-based nonprofit HEAL Palestine, was part of a broader effort to connect 63 injured Palestinian children with life-saving care across the United States in 2025, all without government or business funding, according to Local News Matters.
But what began as a humanitarian mission quickly became the center of a fierce political storm. Videos of the children’s arrival circulated online, and some right-wing activists seized on the images as supposed evidence of a national security threat. Laura Loomer, a well-known conservative commentator and supporter of former President Trump, took to X (formerly Twitter) to call for the suspension of visas for Gazans. "Hopefully all GAZANS will be added to President Trump’s travel ban. There are doctors in other countries. The US is not the world’s hospital!" Loomer wrote, as cited by Local News Matters. She went further, making unsubstantiated claims that HEAL Palestine was funneling dangerous individuals into the country through visitor visas, and described the children and their families as “Islamic invaders.”
The online outcry quickly found support among some members of Congress. Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Fine of Florida thanked Loomer for “uncovering” the activities, while Texas Rep. Chip Roy alleged that flights "filled with folks from Gaza" were arriving at major U.S. airports. According to Reuters, Loomer also claimed to have spoken directly with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to warn him about what she called a threat from "Islamic invaders." Rubio confirmed that multiple congressional offices had reached out to the State Department regarding the recent issuance of medical-humanitarian visas to Gazans. He said, "We are not going to be in partnership with groups that are friendly with Hamas. So, we're going to pause those visas, there was just a small number of them issued to children, but they come with adults accompanying them, obviously – and we are going to pause this program and re-evaluate how those visas are being vetted and what relationship there has been, if any, by these organizations to the process of acquiring those visas," as reported by CBS News.
On August 16, 2025, the U.S. State Department announced via its official X account that it was halting all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza while conducting "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’s press office offered little elaboration, instead suggesting that other countries such as France, Australia, the U.K., and Canada should step up to provide assistance. "There are many countries around the world with great hospitals that should be stepping up to provide assistance," a State Department official said in an email cited by Local News Matters.
The decision was met with swift condemnation from rights groups and humanitarian organizations. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Palestine Children's Relief Fund criticized the move, arguing that it would harm wounded children seeking medical treatment on short-term U.S. visas. Edward Ahmed Mitchell, CAIR’s Deputy Executive Director, stated, "By caving to Loomer’s pressure and banning Palestinian children injured by American weapons from seeking specialized medical care in America, Secretary Rubio has effectively given a notoriously unhinged bigot and her online mob veto power of State Department policy."
HEAL Palestine also released a statement on social media expressing deep concern. “HEAL Palestine is an American humanitarian nonprofit organization delivering urgent aid and medical care to children in Palestine, including sponsoring and bringing severely injured children to the U.S. on temporary visas for essential medical treatment not available at home,” the organization wrote. “After their treatment is complete, the children and any accompanying family members return to the Middle East. This is a medical treatment program, not a refugee resettlement program.”
According to Reuters, more than 3,800 B1/B2 visitor visas for medical treatment have been issued in 2025 to holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents, including 640 in May alone. The Palestinian Authority issues these documents to residents of both the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. The State Department confirmed that only a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas were issued to people from Gaza in recent days, but did not provide an exact figure.
Gaza’s humanitarian crisis has only deepened in the wake of Israel’s ongoing military campaign, which began after the October 2023 attack by Hamas militants that left 1,200 Israelis dead and about 250 taken hostage. Israel’s response has killed tens of thousands and triggered accusations of war crimes and genocide at international courts, as reported by Reuters. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 14,000 people in Gaza currently need life-saving medical care, and with the borders largely closed, very few can leave to seek treatment. Before the war, between 50 to 100 people from Gaza traveled daily for necessary medical care abroad.
Sean Carroll, president of Anera, a humanitarian nonprofit working in Gaza, described the dire situation on Scripps News: "People will lose their lives over that decision and others will may not lose their lives, but they'll lose hope of getting better treatment, of getting better faster, of getting better care. And I don't think that if we are to be humane and be humans, we should recognize that innocent civilians, children who are, who are severely injured or who are, who need medical care because of a combination of factors of not enough food, of bad hygiene conditions, because of the destruction of water and sanitation systems - they should be helped. And, and I think the U.S. should be at the top of the list of countries that's helping people, innocent civilians, Palestinians from Gaza who need medical care."
Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF) echoed these concerns, stating on its website that continued violence has destroyed medical facilities and displaced millions, making access to care nearly impossible. "MSF is treating people in Gaza with severe physical and mental health injuries, and the needs continue to grow. People are suffering from war wounds, chronic diseases, and starvation made worse when they cannot access essential health care," the organization said, calling for a ceasefire and the continuation of medical evacuations like those coordinated by HEAL Palestine.
For the three children and their guardians currently in the Bay Area, the State Department’s announcement has left their status in limbo. As of August 19, 2025, it remained unclear what would happen to their visas, but local volunteers confirmed they would continue receiving care for their physical and mental injuries until further notice. Steve Sosebee, co-founder and executive director of HEAL Palestine, emphasized, “Our main concern is to protect the children who are here and their families.”
The debate over medical visas for Gazans has exposed deep divisions in American politics and tested the nation’s commitment to humanitarian values. As the review process continues and the fate of future medical evacuations remains uncertain, the lives of countless children hang in the balance, caught between war, politics, and the hope for healing.
