The fatalities included 159 in Israel, including 39 civilians killed in rocket attacks.

Israel claims 600 Hezbollah fighters were killed, but that figure has not been substantiated. Hezbollah claims that only 250 of its fighters were killed.

Halutz resigned before a government-appointed committee, which has the power to call on him to step aside, could issue its findings on the war.

The chorus of calls for his resignation swelled in the immediate aftermath of the war, ebbed, then surged again months later after an internal panel submitted a scathing report on the raid that touched off the fighting.

More recently, an inquiry by a former chief of staff found that the war's goals were vaguely defined, and that there was faulty work in command centers.

Reserves generals have criticized Halutz, a former air force chief, for focusing too much on aerial bombardments and not enough on ground operations.

Critics have also questioned his decision to send troops on a last-minute push in which more than 30 soldiers died.

Reports from the battlefield, meanwhile, described a military command that sent troops out to battle inadequately armed, clothed and fed.

Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinski, who was dispatched to the Lebanon front to assume command during the war, told Israel TV last week that he would be a candidate for chief of staff after Halutz leaves. Kaplinski is currently serving as deputy chief of staff.

Another candidate is Maj. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, who has served in several command positions.

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