"Israel cannot defeat us and cannot impose its conditions on us," he added, as US envoy Amos Hochstein concluded a two-day visit to Beirut seeking to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hochstein on Tuesday in Beirut had said he saw "a real opportunity" to end the fighting, and on Wednesday said he was heading to Israel to "try to bring this to a close if we can".

In Beirut, he met twice with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has led mediation efforts on behalf of the Iran-backed group.

"We have received the (US) paper and we have made some remarks," Qassem said, adding that the comments "and those of speaker Berri, which are in harmony, have been communicated to the American envoy".

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Wednesday that any ceasefire deal must ensure Israel has the "freedom to act" against the Lebanese militant group.

"In any agreement we will reach, we will need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations," he told foreign ambassadors ahead of Hochstein's expected arrival in Israel.

The Hezbollah chief said a ceasefire depended on "the Israeli response and the seriousness" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Qassem also said that "the response must be expected in central Tel Aviv", after deadly strikes on three central Beirut districts in recent days.

One of the strikes killed Hezbollah's spokesman Mohammed Afif and four members of his media team.