Jerusalem ? Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz faced new calls to resign Wednesday after Israel’s army chief stepped down, succumbing to widespread outrage over the handling of last summer’s inconclusive war in Lebanon.

Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz became the first Israeli chief of staff to resign since the 1973 war, but the government’s political troubles may not end with his departure. With a government probe into the war looming, and a criminal investigation into Olmert’s role in a banking deal, the prime minister’s troubles appear likely to grow.

The Israeli public has largely blamed Halutz – along with Olmert and Peretz – for failing to crush Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and halt Katyusha rocket attacks against civilians.

Israel launched the war hours after Hezbollah guerrillas killed three Israeli soldiers and captured two others in a July 12 cross-border raid.

Critics say Olmert moved too hastily with a campaign that ended without achieving its declared aims – including the recovery of the two captured soldiers. Soldiers returning from the battlefield said they were poorly trained, lacked basic ammunition and food, and received conflicting orders.

The prime minister, who is supported by a solid majority in parliament, is not expected to resign soon. But the uproar over the alleged mishandling of the war could harm his chances to remain in office in the long term.

“It is not clear whether the prime minister will be able to survive the resignation of chief of staff Halutz and his own political problems,” said Ephraim Inbar, a political scientist at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv. “We may see pressure in his own party to replace him. This resignation is definitely the beginning of political turmoil in Israel.”