JERUSALEM - Israeli army commander Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, under fire for failures in last summer's war in Lebanon, has resigned, the Defense Ministry said early Wednesday.

Israeli army Chief of Staff Lt. Dan Halutz, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert attend a military ceremony at the Glilot army base near Tel Aviv, in this Aug. 1, 2006 file photo.[AP]

Halutz has been under pressure to step down since the end of the 34-day war, which failed in its goals of defeating the anti- Israel militant group Hezbollah and bringing home two captured soldiers.

Israeli launched a full-scale attack on Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas after they seized the two men and killed three other soldiers in a cross-border raid July 12.

Army Radio reported that Halutz sent his letter of resignation to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, saying that he was taking responsibility for the outcome of the war.

"For me the concept of responsibility is everything," Halutz wrote, according to Army Radio.

Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz have also come under withering criticism because of decisions made before and during the war.

In its announcement of Halutz's resignation, the military spokesman's office said Halutz had decided to resign now because the dozens of military inquiries into various aspects of the war had been completed.

None of the inquiries concluded that he should step aside or be replaced.

The spokesman's office said both Olmert and Peretz have to accept the resignation before it can go into effect.

There were no immediate comments from the offices of Olmert or Peretz, who have also been criticized for their conduct during the fighting.

The UN, Israeli and Lebanese officials said the war left more than 1,000 people dead on both sides. Lebanon's Higher Relief Council, a government group, says the majority of those killed were Lebanese civilians. UNICEF said that about a third of them were children.

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