President Joe Biden departed for Israel on Tuesday evening on a high-stakes diplomatic visit amid ongoing Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed that has killed more than 4,000 people so far. As Biden grapples with the crisis, several U.S. officials told HuffPost it has become difficult to have a full debate within his administration about whats happening in Israel-Palestine and in particular that people who want to talk about Israeli restraint or humanitarian protections for Palestinians feel stifled.

Several staffers across multiple agencies, most of whom work on national security issues, told HuffPost they and their colleagues worry about retaliation at work for questioning Israels conduct amid the U.S.-backed Israeli campaign to avenge an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, that killed more than 1,400 Israelis.

The fear is especially intense among staffers with Muslim backgrounds. On Sunday, presidential personnel office chief Gautam Raghavan organized a call with close to a dozen current and former high-level Muslim appointees to discuss their concerns. Some staffers said they felt unsafe voicing their opinions around colleagues because it could endanger their careers, according to a person on the call, which has not been previously reported.

And officials tracking the escalating fighting are quietly sharing dark predictions about the ultimate toll of Israels operation in Gaza, Hamass base, along with pessimism about their ability to influence the situation and Bidens commitment to reducing tensions.

The period since the Hamas attack represents the first time in the administration that there was a real culture of silence, one official said. It feels like post-9/11 where you feel like your thoughts are being policed, and youre really afraid of being seen as anti-American or an anti-Semite.

A career civil servant described tension between their commitment to challenging rights abuses and their job.

Im trying to educate people about Palestine through social media, but Im worried Ill lose my security clearance for criticizing the president or blaming the U.S. for civilian massacre, they told HuffPost. I feel like theres no place for me in America anymore, and Im on thin ice with my clearance because of my heritage and because I care about my people dying.

The seemingly stifled internal debate undercuts Bidens narrative that his administration is historically diverse and open to perspectives from traditionally marginalized groups, including on questions of global affairs.

In a region where Americas traditional foreign policy-making processes have so far yielded dubious results, some officials say the administration is now falling back into bad old habits rather than taking advantage of the personnel it recruited.

One reason to want a diverse staff is to have a variety of inputs into your decision-making, not just to check a box on a little quota sheet you want to benefit from the more informed decision-making that happens from a broader set of experiences having a seat at the table, a person in the administration told HuffPost. The inner, inner circle on these issues is not at all diverse. Does that completely explain the monstrous disregard for innocent Palestinian lives? No, but its hard to think these things are entirely disconnected.

White House officials say the Biden administration is making a concerted effort to elicit a range of views from officials on Israel-Palestine. In the coming days, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients plans to hold a listening session with Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian staff to hear from them directly, as well as ask Cabinet secretaries to do so at their own agencies, a White House official told HuffPost via email. The plans have not been previously reported.

Zients has also overseen a thorough internal and external outreach strategy to Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian American communities, the official added.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have been unequivocal: there is no place for hate in America not against Muslims, not against Arab Americans, not against Jews not against anyone, Robyn Patterson, a White House spokesperson, told HuffPost via email. Hes assembled the most diverse presidential administration in history and is proud of the open, collaborative role his appointees play in advising on policy and strategy including Muslim and Arab American team members. He will continue to use all available tools to combat hate against Muslim and Arab Americans.

But with many Biden staffers already deeply demoralized, that outreach could be perceived as window dressing if theres little proof it creates a more inclusive decision-making process.

Describing a chilling effect, one of the officials said their chief concern as a policy person is that America is not going to get the good policy idea.

I dont want us dragged back into another Middle East war, they added.

A Distorted Debate

One official described the first few days of the current crisis as extremely hard. The Biden administration launched a strategy focused on showing solidarity for Israel while the country pummeled residential neighborhoods in Gaza and cut off electricity and water supplies for the region.

U.S. government agencies tackling a flare-up abroad normally develop a step-by-step plan to support American partners, the official said. We built Ukraine aid with, What does Ukraine need?

Yet it was clear to them the White House wanted to send a dramatic show of assistance to Israel as soon as possible. The official initially felt unable to highlight concerns about the consequences for Palestinians in policy discussions.

It took me till Wednesday or Thursday to have the courage to say, I dont think it would be good for America if we are seen as responsible for killing Palestinian children, they said. There was awkward silence like a pin could drop, and Im like, Are they going to report me to the House Un-American Activities Committee?