Marco Rubio banned all visitor visas for people coming from Gaza.

The United States Department of State announced on Saturday the suspension of all visitor visas for individuals coming from the Gaza Strip. The suspension will be indefinite, while a thorough review of the visa issuance process is conducted.

In recent hours, it was discovered that for several weeks a small number of temporary humanitarian visas, especially those intended for medical treatment,  have been granted to Gazan families through the NGO Heal Palestine.

The issuance of these visas was carried out without the necessary security review required for issuing migration documents of this type for families seeking to emigrate from a war zone largely controlled by a terrorist group such as Hamas.

A national security decision.

This stricter stance toward visa issuance is not new. In June 2025, the Trump administration intensified security checks in the visa process, requiring detailed reviews of every applicant's "online presence."

At that time, the Department of State argued that every visa adjudication process is, essentially, a national security decision. The intention is to prevent the entry of individuals who may pose a risk to American citizens or the country's interests.

Additionally, the need for applicants to credibly demonstrate that they will use their visas consistently with the stated purposes was emphasized. In the case of Gazan applicants, they will have to prove that their trip to the United States is strictly for medical reasons.

France also tightens its visa policy.

This tightening of visa policy is also reflected in Europe. Earlier this month, France suspended its evacuations from Gaza after it was discovered that a Palestinian student had shared on social media an image of Adolf Hitler with a message inciting the murder of Jews.

The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, stated in an interview that the student had to leave the country immediately, affirming that "she has no place in France." Additionally, he announced an investigation to determine how the young woman managed to obtain a student visa. Following the scandal, the pro-terrorist student left France for Qatar.

These decisions in both the United States and France demonstrate a stricter and more cautious trend toward the granting of visas, especially to citizens coming from regions with a strong terrorist presence such as Gaza.