The United States has imposed sanctions on the United Nations expert who investigates human rights abuses in occupied Palestinian territories, the latest effort by the Trump administration to punish those who criticize Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

In a significant escalation of tensions, the United States under the Trump administration has imposed targeted sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories,

An independent UN investigator and outspoken critic of Israel's military operation in Gaza said on Thursday that "it was shocking" that the Trump administration had imposed sanctions on her but stood by her view on the war.