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LONDON: US-based aid group Heal Palestine has said it is “distressed” after a far-right influencer convinced Secretary of State Marco Rubio to stop granting visas to Palestinians seeking medical treatment in America.

Laura Loomer, a social media personality and self-described “proud Islamophobe,” told the New York Times that she had spoken to Rubio on Friday about the threat of “Islamic invaders” using medical visas as a route to the US.

Heal Palestine focuses on bringing severely ill children to the US “on temporary visas for essential medical treatment not available at home,” the group said in a statement.

“After their treatment is complete, the children and any accompanying family members return to the Middle East,” it added. “This is a medical treatment program, not a refugee resettlement program.”

Another group started by Heal Palestine’s founder Steve Sosebee, the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, gained national attention when it helped bring a 2-year-old Palestinian girl named Rahaf and her mother Israa Saed to St. Louis, Missouri, to be fitted with prosthetic legs. 

Rahaf’s case gained national attention after she was later filmed singing and dancing with American YouTube star Ms Rachel.

In a post on X, the State Department said: “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.”

Rubio told CBS on Sunday that he made the decision after “numerous congressional offices” raised concerns about the visas, suggesting he knew of various groups “bragging about and involved in acquiring these visas (which) have strong links to terrorist groups like Hamas.”

Loomer later suggested on social media that Sosebee had links to Hamas for trying to reopen a hospital in Gaza damaged by Israeli military activity.

She was praised on social media by Republican members of Congress Charles Roy from Texas and Randy Fine from Florida for helping to get the medical visas suspended.

MANILA: The Philippine gaming regulator on Monday opposed a proposed ban on online gambling, despite mounting nationwide calls to criminalize it over soaring numbers of addiction, debt and mental health cases.

The online gambling sector in the Philippines has been growing exponentially, with gross revenues jumping from $140 million in 2022 to $2.4 billion in 2024, according to Senate Committee on Games and Amusement data.

The committee held a hearing last week, highlighting the human cost of the industry, with its members demanding to outlaw it, saying the country was facing a full-blown public health and social crisis.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo, who led the hearing on online gambling, warned that “as long as online gambling exists, we are breeding the next generation of addicts, debtors, and broken families.”

He called for a ban and to “prosecute not only the operators, but also the enablers — in the government and in the private sector — who profit from this misery.”

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. — a government-owned and -controlled corporation, which is both an operator and regulator, and was present during the hearing — sent Arab News a statement saying it “is not in favor of a total ban and instead advocates for stricter regulation.”

The corporation said illegal operators were the real problem.

“Unfortunately, many of these unregulated online operators are based overseas who target Filipinos, most of whom do not realize that the sites they are playing on are not licensed by PAGCOR. This is where problems arise, especially regarding age restrictions.”

But a survey cited by senators indicates that age was not the main issue. It indicated that 66 percent of Filipinos aged 18 to 40, and 57 percent of those aged 41 to 55 were engaged in online gambling. Nearly a third bet multiple times a week, some wagering up to $53 per session.

Majority Leader Joel Villanueva warned that online gambling was a “growing national crisis” in the Philippines.

“People are not just risking their hard-earned money. They are putting their futures, families, and lives on the line. The lure of instant wealth has already led many down a path of addiction, debt, and despair,” he said.

“Online gambling is not just a matter of financial loss. It is strongly associated with serious mental and physical health issues, broken relationships, family conflict, increased cases of domestic violence and suicide, crime against persons and property, and ultimately, the erosion of opportunities and dignity in the lives of many Filipinos.”

Bridges of Hope, a prominent addiction treatment and rehabilitation organization in the Philippines, reports that currently seven out of 10 of its clients are now treated for online gambling addiction.

The support group Recovering Gamblers of the Philippines says that the proportion of online gamblers among its members has increased from 60 to 90 percent in just the past two years.

Dr. Tony Leachon, a physician and commentator on public health, said that online gambling addiction has turned into a “silent epidemic that corrodes mental health, destabilizes families, and fractures communities.”

He warned that PAGCOR’s “dual role as regulator and operator creates a conflict of interest that undermines protective measures” in the Philippines, where financial vulnerability is widespread.

Leachon told Arab News: “Addiction drives people to borrow from loan sharks, sell possessions, or neglect basic needs like food and education. This is not merely a behavioral issue.

“It is a public health crisis that demands systemic intervention, just as we would respond to substance abuse or infectious disease.”

“Without decisive action, we risk institutionalizing addiction as a cultural norm,” he added.