Biden assures further assistance to Israel, but warns ‘public opinion could shift in…’

US President Joe Biden on Monday recalled his decades-long relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while suggesting that the two have had their share of disagreements over the years and at present. 

“The prime minister is in a tough spot," Biden alluded to the complex relationship he has with Israel's PM Netanyahu. He was speaking at a White House reception for the Jewish Hanukkah festival. 

Biden noted he inscribed on an old photograph of the two men, using a nickname for the Israeli leader. “I wrote on the top of it, 'Bibi I love you but I don't agree with a damn thing you had to say.'”

“It's about the same today. Israel is in a “tough spot”. I've had my differences with some Israeli leadership,” the US President said as quoted by Reuters. 

However, Biden did not elaborate on what differences between the two men remained. In recent weeks, they have included issues spanning the current war against Hamas and the treatment of Palestinians.

He has weathered intense criticism for his support for Israel's response to Hamas' October 7 cross-border attack, when the militants killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostage, according to Israeli tallies. About 100 hostages have since been freed.

Israel's retaliatory assault has killed 18,205 people and wounded nearly 50,000, according to the Gaza health ministry, drawing sharp rebukes within the United States.

Speaking to Jewish people celebrating the holidays at the White House, Biden said differences with Israeli leadership aside, his "commitment" to the “independent Jewish state is unshakeable”, Reuters reported. 

“Folks were there no Israel, there wouldn't be a Jew in the world that was safe. We have to be careful. They have to be careful. The whole world's public opinion can shift overnight. We can't let that happen,” he added. 

He said assistance to Israel would continue until Hamas was routed out but warned that public opinion could shift in grave ways for Israel's security.

Biden further said the United States would continue to work to free hostages still held in Gaza, speed humanitarian aid to Palestinians, and “emphasize to our Israeli friends we need to protect civilian life.”

(With Reuters inputs)