United States ends freeze on Lebanon aid worth $100 million

A State Department official and a congressional aide, both speakingoncondition of anonymity, said that the assistance has been unblocked by the White House's Office of Management and Budget.

"The money is good to go," the State Department official said.

The Trump administration has been tight-lippedonthe reason for the hold-up in support forLebanonbut has been pressing the government to distance itself from Hezbollah, the Shiite militant movement close to Iran.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who included Hezbollah members in his cabinet, resigned a month ago in the face of major street protests.

The State Department official said there had been "some disagreements about the efficacy of USaid" to the Lebanese Armed Forces.

But the official defended the military as a "national institution" in a country long dividedonconfessional lines, and praised its "high level of capability" in fighting extremists such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State movement.

"It defendsLebanon's borders; it is an excellent partner to the United States in counterterrorism and fighting Sunni jihadi Islamists," the official said.

"They have responded in recent weeks,I think in impressive fashion,in terms of protecting demonstrators from violence, demonstrating, I think, the fact that they are a national institution," he said.

Watch: Hezbollah accuses the US of interference in Lebanon

Criticism of Hezbollah

But the official said that detractors pointed to "isolated incidents" in which the military has kept its distance from Hezbollah, considered a terrorist group by the United States.

The militant group has fought Israel for decades, including through a guerrilla campaign to end the Jewish state's occupation of southernLebanon.

Hezbollah still maintains a formidable arms stockpile with support of Iran and by some experts' measures is more powerful than the Lebanese army.

David Hale, the number-three official of the State Department, last month confirmed the delay in theaidwhen he was questioned under oath by Congress in the impeachment inquiry into Trump.

Two senior Democrats, in a recent letter to the White House, said that hold affected $105millioninaidtoLebanonincluding military vehicles, weapons and ammunition.

Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Ted Deutch, head of its Middle East subcommittee, wrote thatLebanonneeded support to face "imminent threats."

"I'm pleased to see this criticalaidfinally resuming. Our assistance is crucial to helpLebanoncounter Iran-backed Hezbollah and other groups threatening the region," Deutch wroteonTwitter.