The US State Department said on Tuesday it does not want to see a ceasefire in Lebanon and supports Israel's heavy bombardment of the country "to weaken Hezbollah."

At his daily press briefing at the State Department, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was asked about comments by Hezbollah MP Sheikh Naim Qassem, who said the group supports Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's efforts to reach a ceasefire without mentioning that it should also include a ceasefire in Gaza.

Miller responded by telling reporters: "Now that Hezbollah is on the defensive and is being hit, all of a sudden, they have changed their position and want a ceasefire."

Miller claimed that the United States "ultimately wants a diplomatic solution" but expressed strong support for the Israeli military operations, which have killed more than 1,250 people, including more than 100 children. "We support Israel's efforts to degrade Hezbollah's capabilities," he said.

The United States is also calling on Lebanon to hold new presidential elections amid the Israeli bombardment. Lebanon has been without a president since 2022, as the various political forces in parliament have failed to agree on who to elect. Hezbollah’s political wing currently holds 15 seats in the 128-seat parliament.

"What we ultimately want to see from this situation is for Lebanon to be able to break Hezbollah's grip on the country... break the stranglehold that Hezbollah has imposed on the country," Miller said.

The United States continues to describe the Israeli attack on Lebanon as a "limited incursion" despite massive bombings in Beirut and across the country.

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated on Tuesday that further escalation was coming. In a threatening message to the Lebanese people, he called on them to “liberate” the country from Hezbollah or face “destruction and suffering as we see in Gaza.”

Before Israel launched a strike that killed Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, the United States had been calling for a temporary 21-day ceasefire. But the United States put no real pressure on Israel to accept a truce because it offered a massive new military aid package and Netanyahu rejected the idea of a ceasefire.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib said Nasrallah had agreed to a 21-day ceasefire with Israel a few days before his assassination, and that the United States had been informed of his decision.

The State Department denied that the United States had been informed of Nasrallah's acceptance of the truce, but CNN later reported that a Western source familiar with the negotiations said Hezbollah had agreed to a ceasefire.