Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been criticized for taking Israel to war in Lebanon last year "hastily" and without a comprehensive plan.

A government inquiry panel found him and other leaders guilty of "very serious failings" in handling the war.

About 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis were killed after Israel launched operations against Hezbollah militants who had captured two Israeli soldiers.

Mr Olmert said in a TV address he had no intention of resigning.

Plunging popularity

He said that instead he would work to implement the conclusions of the report, admitting that "mistakes were made".

Mr Olmert is already suffering unprecedented unpopularity levels.

But he got support from the White House, whose spokesman said President Bush viewed the Israeli leader as essential to Middle East peace efforts.

He received the report on Monday morning, a few hours before its conclusions were read out on live TV.

"We will definitely study your material... and ensure that in any future threat scenario against Israel, the difficulties and faults you cited will be corrected," Mr Olmert said.

'Overly ambitious'

Retired judge Eliahu Winograd presented the findings of the six-month investigation into the lead-up to war at a news conference.

He said the decision to launch the war without a well thought-out plan showed "a severe failure in judgment, responsibility and caution".

The aims of the war - to crush Hezbollah and force it to hand back two Israeli troops captured in a deadly cross-border raid - were "overly ambitious and impossible to achieve", Mr Winograd said.

Some 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers, were killed in the 34-day conflict, while the two captured soldiers remain in captivity.

"The responsibility is on the prime minister, the defense minister and chief of staff," Mr Winograd said.

The former chief of staff, General Dan Halutz, has already resigned.

The report did not recommend any resignations, but it is expected to raise the pressure on Mr Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz.

A rally is planned for Thursday in Tel Aviv, calling for Mr Olmert and his government to quit.

The BBC's Tim Franks, in Jerusalem, says that the report was just as damning as expected, and that it will be very tough for Mr Olmert to survive politically in the long term.

The commission said its report was only its interim findings.

It was ordered to investigate the full conduct of the war, but said it decided to bring forward its findings on the preparation for war, so that lessons could be learned sooner.

Its full report will follow soon, it said.

Photo caption

Israeli paratroopers on the ground in Lebanon during the 2006 war