Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended his move to immediately halt all visitor visas for Gazans and vowed a complete reevaluation of the process, which he claimed is rife with ties to Hamas.

The State Department announced the immediate halt of all visitor visas for Gazans on Saturday while it conducts a “full and thorough review” of the process. The visas, which are temporary, were previously issued to a “small number” of Gazans for medical treatment in the United States.