Israel cannot impose truce conditions on Hezbollah, the group’s new leader vowed in a defiant speech broadcast on Wednesday.

It comes as Washington scrambles to clinch a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese movement after more than a year of fighting that has killed thousands.

Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s new secretary-general, said that he had discussed a deal with US envoy Amos Hochstein and that ending the war was now in Israel’s hands.

He said peace depended on Benjamin Netanyahu’s “seriousness” and accused Israel of trying to take from the negotiations what it could not achieve on the battlefield.