Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced Francesca Albanese, a special rapporteur, for calling for international investigations of Americans and Israelis over the war in the enclave.

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations' special rapporteur, has accused Israel of waging a "genocidal campaign" in Gaza.

Human rights defenders rallied on Thursday to support the top U.N. expert on Palestinian rights, after the United States imposed sanctions on her over what it said was unfair criticism of Israel. Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese serves as special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories,