Soup kitchen distributes meals to desperate Palestinians in Gaza City tent camp amid Israeli blockade
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Associated Press
a few seconds ago
- Associated Press
Trump administration halts visas for people from Gaza after Laura Loomer questions arrivals
WASHINGTON (AP) — A day after conservative activist Laura Loomer posted videos on social media of children from Gaza arriving in the U.S. for medical treatment and questioning how they got visas, the State Department said it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a review. The State Department said Saturday the visas would be stopped while it looks into how 'a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas' were issued in recent days. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday told 'Face the Nation' on CBS that the action came after 'outreach from multiple congressional offices asking questions about it.' Rubio said there were 'just a small number' of the visas issued to children in need of medical aid but that they were accompanied by adults. The congressional offices reached out with evidence that 'some of the organizations bragging about and involved in acquiring these visas have strong links to terrorist groups like Hamas,' he asserted, without providing evidence or naming those organizations. As a result, he said, 'we are going to pause this program and reevaluate how those visas are being vetted and what relationship, if any, has there been by these organizations to the process of acquiring those visas.' Loomer on Friday posted videos on X of children from Gaza arriving earlier this month in San Francisco and Houston for medical treatment with the aid of an organization called HEAL Palestine. 'Despite the US saying we are not accepting Palestinian 'refugees' into the United States under the Trump administration,' these people from Gaza were able to travel to the U.S., she said. She called it a 'national security threat' and asked who signed off on the visas, calling for the person to be fired. She tagged Rubio, President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat. Trump has downplayed Loomer's influence on his administration, but several officials swiftly left or were removed shortly after she publicly criticized them. The State Department on Sunday declined to comment on how many of the visas had been granted and whether the decision to halt visas to people from Gaza had anything to do with Loomer's posts. HEAL Palestine said in a statement Sunday that it was 'distressed' by the State Department decision to stop halt visitor visas from Gaza. The group said it is 'an American humanitarian nonprofit organization delivering urgent aid and medical care to children in Palestine.' A post on the organization's Facebook page Thursday shows a photo of a boy from Gaza leaving Egypt and headed to St. Louis for treatment and said he is 'our 15th evacuated child arriving in the U.S. in the last two weeks.' The organization brings 'severely injured children' to the U.S. on temporary visas for treatment they can't get at home, the statement said. Following treatment, the children and any family members who accompanied them return to the Middle East, the statement said. 'This is a medical treatment program, not a refugee resettlement program,' it said. The World Health Organization has repeatedly called for more medical evacuations from Gaza, where Israel's over 22-month war against Hamas has heavily destroyed or damaged much of the territory's health system. 'More than 14,800 patients still need lifesaving medical care that is not available in Gaza,' WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday on social media, and called on more countries to offer support. A WHO description of the medical evacuation process from Gaza published last year explained that the WHO submits lists of patients to Israeli authorities for security clearance. It noted that before the war in Gaza began, 50 to 100 patients were leaving Gaza daily for medical treatment, and it called for a higher rate of approvals from Israeli authorities. The U.N. and partners say medicines and even basic health care supplies are low in Gaza after Israel cut off all aid to the territory of over 2 million people for more than 10 weeks earlier this year. 'Ceasefire! Peace is the best medicine,' Tedros added Wednesday.
Washington Post
a few seconds ago
- Washington Post
Trump administration halts visas for people from Gaza after Laura Loomer questions arrivals
WASHINGTON — A day after conservative activist Laura Loomer posted videos on social media of children from Gaza arriving in the U.S. for medical treatment and questioning how they got visas, the State Department said it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a review. The State Department said Saturday the visas would be stopped while it looks into how 'a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas' were issued in recent days. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday told 'Face the Nation' on CBS that the action came after 'outreach from multiple congressional offices asking questions about it.'
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Syria's Sharaa hopes for Kurdish deal to prevent conflict
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) -Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has expressed hope that his country would avoid military conflict with U.S.-backed Kurdish forces if efforts to integrate their autonomous administration in northeast Syria into the state structure collapse. In remarks late on Saturday to senior figures from Idlib, where he has mustered loyalist forces, Sharaa said Kurdish leaders had signalled readiness to move forward with a landmark deal in March to bring their Kurdish-run areas under state authority. But their actions on the ground suggested otherwise, he told the publicised forum. 'At times on the ground there are signals opposite to what they say in the negotiations,' Sharaa said. Turkey and Washington, the main powers backing the deal to integrate Syria's oil-rich northeast into the state, wanted to resolve the issue peacefully, Sharaa said. "These parties are pushing for a solution peacefully. I hope we don't enter into a dispute. I am hopeful in a few months we will resolve it," he said. The collapse of follow-up talks since the March deal has escalated tensions in the region, triggering fresh clashes this month between government troops and the Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF, which controls parts of northeast Syria where Arabs form a majority, has recently fortified extensive tunnel networks along the frontlines. Many tribal Arabs accuse the SDF of discriminatory policies - claims Kurdish officials deny. CONCERN OVER MAJOR ESCALATION Turkey-backed rebels have also reinforced their positions amid concerns over a potential large-scale escalation in hostilities, officials say. Ankara has warned of military action against the SDF, whichit considers a terrorist organisation and has targeted in pastcross-border operations. It expects the Syrian government toaddress its security concerns but says it reserves the right tomount an offensive if needed. U.S. envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack - an advocate for a strong, unified Syrian state - voiced concern last month over Kurdish delays in implementing the March deal, urging faster progress. Authorities in Damascus reacted earlier this month angrily to a recent SDF conference calling for greater decentralisation and which demanded a review of a constitutional declaration it said discriminated against minorities, a move officials said threatened Syria's territorial integrity. Syrian officials said any military push against the SDF would rely on Turkish-backed factions operating in northern Syria, adding that Ankara has grown impatient with what it sees as Kurdish foot-dragging. Sharaa said those who sought partition were 'dreaming' and insisted the country would not give up any stretch of territory. He also criticised Druze groups seeking support from Israel in their confrontation with Damascus. Thousands joined a large Druze protest in Sweida on Saturday, demanding self-determination, hoisting Israeli flags and praising Israel for a military intervention that forced Syrian forces to retreat after hundreds of people were killed last month. Sharaa acknowledged that 'violations' had been committed by security forces and army personnel in Sweida, but said Druze militias had also perpetrated crimes. Solve the daily Crossword
