'We're listening': Blinken writes to staffers amid growing backlash within US State Dept over Israel-Hamas war

US State Department Antony Blinken has acknowledged the growing dissent in his office over the Biden administration’s approach toward the Israel-Hamas war. In an email to State Department personnel, Blinken said, “I know that for many of you, the suffering caused by this crisis is taking a profound personal toll.” His email to staffers comes amid widespread backlash from not only the State Department but also from the US President Joe Biden’s office. According to a report by CNN, scores of staffers from the US Agency for International Development wrote an open letter calling for a ceasefire. However, some of the fiercest backlash has come from the State Department with reports of an official who publicly resigned from the office last month. “We’ve organized forums in Washington to hear from you, and urged managers and teams to have candid discussions at posts around the world precisely so we can hear your feedback and ideas. I’ve asked our senior leadership to keep doing that," Blinken wrote in the email. “We’re listening: what you share is informing our policy and our messages,” he added. In his email, the State Department secretary also provided an overview of his recent trips to Israel, adding that America’s “overarching objective remains the same: to bring this terrible conflict to a close as quickly as possible, while standing by Israel’s right and obligation, in full accordance with international humanitarian law, to ensure a terrorist attack like October 7th never happens again.” “As I said in private and in public, we believe Palestinian people’s voices must be at the center of post-crisis governance in Gaza. We believe in Palestinian-led governance of Gaza, with Gaza unified with the West Bank. Gaza’s reconstruction must be supported with a sustained mechanism,” he added.