The U.S. State Department on Saturday suspended the issuance of all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza while it conducts what it called a “full and thorough” review of its procedures. The decision follows the granting in recent days of a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas, the department said in a statement. State Department data show the United States has issued more than 3,800 B1/B2 visitor visas to holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents so far this year, including 640 in May. The agency did not say how many of those visas went to Gaza residents or how long the new pause will last. The move came after right-wing activist Laura Loomer posted videos she said showed Palestinians arriving in several U.S. cities for medical treatment, prompting Republican Representatives Chip Roy of Texas and Randy Fine of Florida to call the arrivals a national-security risk. Civil-rights groups denounced the suspension: the Council on American-Islamic Relations called it “intentional cruelty,” and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund warned the policy could block lifesaving care for wounded and sick children. Humanitarian organisations have been evacuating injured Palestinians as Israel’s offensive in Gaza, launched after Hamas’s Oct. 7 2023 attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel, has left more than 61,000 Palestinians dead, according to local health officials. The United States has not indicated whether it will ultimately resume visa processing for Gazans or alter its broader policy on taking in civilians displaced by the conflict.