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The head of Israel's armed forces Lieutenant General Dan Halutz resigned amid a probe into the military's mishandling of the 2006 war in Lebanon, Israel state radio announced.
In a letter of resignation to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister Amir Peretz, the general said he wanted to “assume his responsibilities.”
Earlier this month Halutz, 58, had insisted he would not resign over his conduct during last summer's Lebanon war despite admitting several shortcomings.
Olmert tried in vain to convince Halutz 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 Hezbollah in Lebanon launched after the militia's capture of two Israeli servicemen on July 12.
The state commission was set up to examine the overall conduct of the defence establishment and that of the government during the conflict.
Halutz had earlier presented the conclusions of an internal military inquiry.
“I have accomplished the objective that was set for me at the end of the Lebanon war which was to study and learn the lessons from what transpired. I consider under the conditions it is my duty to resign my office immediately,” Halutz wrote in his resignation letter.
Halutz has earlier admitted committing 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 stop 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 Shiite group Hezbollah from firing rockets into Israel and securing the release of the two soldiers.
The July-August Israeli offensive killed more than 1,200 Lebanese civilians and caused widespread damage estimated at 3.5 billion dollars (2.7 billion euros)
Hezbollah says that it lost some 60 fighters in the war, despite other estimates which put the death toll higher.
Olmert appointed deputy chief of staff Moshe Kaplinsky to temporarily lead the Israeli military.
The charismatic, no-nonsense Halutz was appointed in June 2005.
Chosen by Peretz's predecessor Shaul Mofaz, Halutz was the first man with an air force background to be chosen as chief of staff in the history of the Jewish state. He is also of Iranian origin.
Observers called him the ideal man in charge for any potential air strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, but a year later he found himself instead in charge of a conflict with Hezbollah.
Some commentators have criticised him for overestimating the effectiveness of air strikes which Israeli forces stepped up in an attempt to smash Hezbollah's military infrastructure, while Israeli infantry and armoured units were poorly trained and equipped.
Born in Tel Aviv in 1948, the same year that the modern Jewish state was created, he graduated from Tel Aviv University with a degree in economics.
He was drafted in 1966 and trained as a fighter pilot, rising rapidly through the ranks and seeing active service in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Halutz served as commander of the air force from 2000 to 2004, when he was appointed deputy chief of staff. He is married and the father of three.
