Qassem made his comments in a pre-recorded address aired a few hours after U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein said he would head to Israel to try to close a deal on a truce, after two days of meetings with Lebanese officials including two sit-downs with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally.

Lebanon and Hezbollah have agreed to a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire with Israel, a top Lebanese official told Reuters, as Beirut residents grapple with intensifying Israeli strikes.

US envoy Amos Hochstein was in Lebanon Wednesday, seeking to hammer out a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, as the militant group battled Israeli troops in the