Jerusalem, Jan 17: The chief of Israel's Armed Forces Dan Halutz has resigned amid a probe into military's mishandling of last year's Lebanon war.

"The Chief of Staff has clarified that his responsibility as a commander and as the head of the Israel defence forces staff are what led him to remain in duty until the investigations are completed and the 2007 work plan is oriented around the lessons learned", a statement from the Army said.

"Now that this process has completed, the Chief of Staff has resigned immediately", it said.

Halutz sent his resignation letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister Amir Peretz, both of whom have expressed regret at his decision.

Many of the IDF internal probes had found the Chief of Staff personally responsible for lack of coordination during the war and negligence in preparations.

Olmert and his government have come under severe criticism over the war, which saw more than 160 Israelis killed.

Olmert's bureau said that the Prime Minister already knew Halutz's intention to resign and had asked him to reconsider it.

The Prime Minister, however, accepted the resignation once he was convinced of Halutz's determination to do so, it said.

Peretz expressed "regret" over Halutz's decision and admired his contribution and sacrifice to the country.

Senior Army officers welcomed the move, Ha'aretz Online reported.

Some officers said that Halutz's decision was made after he received inside information that the probe results may point finger at him for committing mistakes during the war.

The officers pointed to his remarks made two weeks ago that he planned to remain in the IDF, and said that his decision to resign indicated that "something extreme changed his mind," The Jerusalem Post reported.

Halutz had said two weeks ago that he would resign if the government appointed Winograd committee of inquiry found him responsible for the mishandling of the war in Lebanon.

The Deputy Chief of Staff, Moshe Kaplinsky, will act as the interim head of the armed forces.

Israel launched the attack in southern Lebanon just hours after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed three others in a July 12 cross-border raid.

The Israeli offensive killed more than 1,200 Lebanese civilians and caused widespread damage.