White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday that Washington is "not shedding tears" over the death of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.

"We are not shedding tears over a terrorist that was killed. That terrorist had American blood" on his hands, Jean-Pierre stated at a press briefing. She reiterated that Israel "has the right to defend itself" against Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups, adding that the US understands a "strategic purpose" of Israel's planned ground incursion into Lebanon which is aimed at destroying Hezbollah's "capacity to attack Israeli communities from the immediate opposite side of the border."

However, the press secretary pointed out that the US administration wants "to see a ceasefire" in Lebanon. "That would give us the space, as we have been saying, of diplomacy," she concluded.