Israel army chief resigns amid Lebanon war probe

The head of Israel's armed forces General Dan Haloutz resigned amid a probe into the military's mishandling of the 2006 war in Lebanon.

The head of Israel's armed forces General Dan Haloutz resigned on Tuesday amid a probe into the military's mishandling of the 2006 war in Lebanon, Israel state radio announced.

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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tried in vain to convince Haloutz to stay until the results of the probe were known, state radio added.

Halutz has had to face heavy criticism over his personal conduct and the army's performance during Israel's 34-day war against the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon launched after the capture of two Israeli servicemen on July 12.

The chief of staff presented the conclusions of an internal military inquiry, but he himself still awaits the results of a state commission examining the overall conduct of the defence establishment and the government, which could call for his resignation.

Halutz admitted he had committed several mistakes during the war, most notably taking a belated decision to call up thousands of reserve troops ahead of a major ground offensive, and the army's failure to curb thousands of rockets fired from Lebanon against northern Israel.

Olmert and his government have come under intense criticism over the war, which saw more than 160 Israelis killed but which fell short of its goals of stopping Hezbollah from firing rockets into Israel and securing the release of the two soldiers.