WASHINGTON

Staffers at the US State Department and US Agency for International Development (USAID) wrote a dissent memo accusing President Joe Biden of "spreading misinformation" on the Israel-Hamas war and claiming that Israel is committing "war crimes" in Gaza, a report said Monday.

The memo, signed by 100 State Department and USAID employees, said Biden spread misinformation in his remarks on Oct. 10 about the Palestinian group Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Axios reported.

The memo, which was submitted to the department's policy office on Nov. 3, strongly recommended that the US government "advocate for the release of hostages by both Hamas and (Israel)," citing the "thousands" of Palestinians being held in Israel, some of them "without charge," it reported.

The memo also encouraged Biden, who said during hic Oct. 10 speech that the US has Israel's back, to do more to question Israel's actions, according to the report.

It follows several other reports in the past weeks about a “mutiny” within the State Department about the US’s unconditional support for Israel as the civilian death toll in Gaza continues to rise.

Asked about the reports during a daily press briefing, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said one of the strengths of the department is the "diversity of views," adding they "welcome people to make those views known."

"The secretary has met with a number of people from all ranks of the department from different bureaus in the department to hear exactly what they think about our policy, both with respect to Israel and its conflict with Hamas and with respect to other matters, including very controversial matters, and he encourages people to provide feedback," he said. "He encourages people to speak up if they disagree."

"It doesn't mean that we're going to change our policy based on disagreements," he said. "He is going to take the recommendations and make ultimately what he thinks is the best judgment and make his recommendations to the president about what we ought to do."

As the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip entered its 38th day, at least 11,180 Palestinians have been killed, including over 7,700 women and children, and more than 28,200 others have been injured, according to the latest figures from Palestinian authorities.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,200, according to official figures.