US sanctions UN Gaza rights envoy over criticism of Israel’s war

The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it is imposing sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in the West Bank and Gaza, escalating efforts to punish critics of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

The decision follows months of US pressure on the United Nations to remove Albanese from her position, a campaign that ultimately failed. Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer, has repeatedly accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza—a charge both Israel and the US firmly deny.

Recently, Albanese has called on other nations to impose sanctions on Israel to halt its military offensive. She has also supported the International Criminal Court’s war crimes indictments against Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and published reports accusing US companies of aiding Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media. “We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense.”

Albanese has faced sharp criticism from pro-Israel officials and groups in the US and the Middle East. Just last week, the US mission to the UN released a statement accusing her of “virulent anti-Semitism and unrelenting anti-Israel bias,” dismissing her claims of genocide and apartheid as “false and offensive.”

The sanctions come amid a broader Trump administration crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism. Earlier this year, authorities began arresting and deporting students and faculty involved in pro-Palestinian protests at US universities.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas erupted on 7 October 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza that has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which reports that many of the dead are women and children, though it does not specify how many were combatants.