US issues sanctions against UN investigator probing abuses in Gaza
What they are witnessing is that we, we've almost entered *** new phase of, of this war. Um, that's at least what it feels like. We're really at the worst point that we've ever been at, um, in, in this humanitarian crisis of over 20 months, and that is not just because of the incessant bombardments and, and the displacements, uh, currently less than. Then 18% of the territory of the Gaza Strip is not under displacement order or not designated as *** military zone, but It's really um because of, of the combination of hunger and thirst, um, and, and these images that we see coming out of Gaza, um, people having to risk their lives to, to get their hands on, on *** little bit of, of food. Um, everyone that my colleagues come across is, is hungry, um, is thirsty. Uh, the, the water production facilities are operating roughly at, at 150. percent capacity because since electricity was cut off from the Gaza Strip at the beginning of this war, these facilities are completely reliant on fuel to desalinate water, to pump water up, and then also to to distribute it. And fuel is as scarce as, as anything else in in the Gaza Strip today. So we're looking at this situation of engineering. Years, man-made scarcity that has driven population really into, into panic and into despair. My, my colleague James, um, just, just two weeks ago, um, interviewed children who had gotten injured very badly actually, at, at food distribution sites. But some of these children have, have sadly passed away in, in the meantime because healthcare is also So not really available anymore. Hospitals are just overwhelmed by the constant inflow of of wounded, and there's *** shortage of of everything medicines, and medical equipment, medical supplies. Um, so that's why we're humanitarians, any humanitarian you'll talk to today will, will tell you um that the situation has, has reached *** new low. We're really hitting *** rock bottom and key is here that it doesn't have to be this way. We have supplies ready to, to, to bring in um specialized nutrition supplies, hygiene supplies, nappies for babies, sanitary pads, uh, for, for women and girls, um, but we're, we're not authorized to bring all of those supplies in, and we're also only authorized to bring in limited quantities, very select, uh, supplies. So, so this is what is really exacerbating the crisis.
US issues sanctions against UN investigator probing abuses in Gaza
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Updated: 3:50 PM CDT Jul 9, 2025
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The Trump administration announced it is issuing sanctions Wednesday against an independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, the latest effort by the United States to punish critics of Israel's 21-month war in Gaza.The State Department's decision to sanction Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, comes after a recent U.S. pressure campaign to force the international body to remove her from her post failed.Albanese, a human rights lawyer, has been vocal about what she has described as the "genocide" that Israel is waging against Palestinians in Gaza. Both Israel and the U.S., which provides military support, have strongly denied that accusation.In recent weeks, Albanese has issued a series of letters, urging other countries to pressure Israel, including through sanctions, to end its deadly bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The Italian national has also been a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court's indictment against Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for war crimes. She most recently issued a report naming several U.S. giants among companies aiding what she described as Israel's occupation and war on Gaza."Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated," Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on social media. "We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense."Albanese has been the target of criticism from pro-Israel officials and groups in the U.S. and in the Middle East. Last week, the U.S. mission to the U.N. issued a scathing statement, calling for her removal for "a years-long pattern of virulent anti-Semitism and unrelenting anti-Israel bias."The statement said that Albanese's allegations of Israel committing genocide or apartheid are "false and offensive."It is all a culmination of an extraordinary and sprawling campaign of nearly six months by the Trump administration to quell criticism of Israel's handling of the deadly war in Gaza, which is closing in on two years. Earlier this year, the Trump administration began arresting and deporting faculty and students of American universities who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and other political activities.The war between Israel and Hamas began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people captive. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead but does not specify how many were fighters or civilians.Nearly 21 months into the conflict that displaced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people, it is nearly impossible for the critically wounded to get the care they need, doctors and aid workers say."We must stop this genocide, whose short-term goal is completing the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, while also profiteering from the killing machine devised to perform it," Albanese said in a recent post on X. "No one is safe until everyone is safe."
The Trump administration announced it is issuing sanctions Wednesday against an independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, the latest effort by the United States to punish critics of Israel's 21-month war in Gaza.
The State Department's decision to sanction Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, comes after a recent U.S. pressure campaign to force the international body to remove her from her post failed.
Albanese, a human rights lawyer, has been vocal about what she has described as the "genocide" that Israel is waging against Palestinians in Gaza. Both Israel and the U.S., which provides military support, have strongly denied that accusation.
In recent weeks, Albanese has issued a series of letters, urging other countries to pressure Israel, including through sanctions, to end its deadly bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The Italian national has also been a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court's indictment against Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for war crimes. She most recently issued a report naming several U.S. giants among companies aiding what she described as Israel's occupation and war on Gaza.
"Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated," Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on social media. "We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense."
Albanese has been the target of criticism from pro-Israel officials and groups in the U.S. and in the Middle East. Last week, the U.S. mission to the U.N. issued a scathing statement, calling for her removal for "a years-long pattern of virulent anti-Semitism and unrelenting anti-Israel bias."
The statement said that Albanese's allegations of Israel committing genocide or apartheid are "false and offensive."
It is all a culmination of an extraordinary and sprawling campaign of nearly six months by the Trump administration to quell criticism of Israel's handling of the deadly war in Gaza, which is closing in on two years. Earlier this year, the Trump administration began arresting and deporting faculty and students of American universities who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and other political activities.
The war between Israel and Hamas began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people captive. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead but does not specify how many were fighters or civilians.
Nearly 21 months into the conflict that displaced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people, it is nearly impossible for the critically wounded to get the care they need, doctors and aid workers say.
"We must stop this genocide, whose short-term goal is completing the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, while also profiteering from the killing machine devised to perform it," Albanese said in a recent post on X. "No one is safe until everyone is safe."
