US President Joe Biden has alluded to the complex relationship he has with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting the prime minister is in a “tough spot” and that the two have had their share of disagreements over the years and at present.

According to Reuters, speaking at a White House reception for the Jewish Hanukkah festival, Biden recalled his decades-long relationship with Netanyahu.

He noted he made an inscription 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,” Biden said, to scattered applause from the largely Jewish audience, adding that Israel is in a “tough spot” and that “I’ve had my differences with some Israeli leadership”.

He did not elaborate on what differences between the two men remained, though in recent weeks they have included issues spanning the current offensive against Hamas and treatment of Palestinians.