Israeli probe raps army's handling of Lebanon war

JERUSALEM, Dec 29 (Reuters) A retired Israeli general who investigated the armed forces' performance during the Lebanon war, today criticised commanders for poor organisation but stopped short of calling for the chief of staff's resignation.

The July-August assault on Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas drove them from Israel's northern border but failed to retrieve two captive soldiers, prompting many Israelis to call for a purge of the top brass in hope of restoring a military edge.

Former chief of staff Dan Shomron, in a report released to Israeli media, said the military high command had been slow to invoke wartime regulations that would have allowed for regular and reservist troops to be mobilised at short notice.

Shomron further rebuked the military for not doing more to stem short-range rocket fire by Hezbollah, media reports said.

While Shomron's critique mentioned the chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Dan Halutz, it did not call for him to step down. Two generals who commanded Israeli forces in Lebanon quit after an August 14 truce, but Halutz has said he is staying on.

Some 1,200 mostly civilian Lebanese and 157 Israelis, most of them soldiers, were killed in the 34-day war, which erupted after Hezbollah seized two troops in a deadly border raid.

Halutz, a former air force chief, came under criticism for relying heavily on aerial barrages in the first part of the war, which caused extensive damage to Lebanon's infrastructure while Hezbollah launched around 4,000 rockets into Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister Amir Peretz are also being investigated for their execution of the war. That probe is being handled by a government-appointed committee, despite public calls for an independent inquiry.

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