Olmert's mishandling of the war and adamancy to negotiate a diplomatic solution could spark snap elections. (Reuters)

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Dissent in Israel over the government's handling of war in Lebanon started to mount Friday, August 11, with people alarmed by a rising Israeli death toll and surprised at Hizbullah's steadfastness.

For the first time, opinion polls showed a sharp drop in support for the Israeli government over its handling of the offensive in Lebanon and mainstream parties and movements outright withdrew their support for the war.

In a survey published by the Haaretz daily a month after the offensive was launched, 73 percent of respondents said Israel could not claim to have won the war against Hizbullah if the fighting stopped now.

Since it killed eight soldiers and took two others prisoner in a July 12 border attack, the resistance group has continued to rain rockets on Israel, inflicting 120 Israeli casualties, mostly soldiers.

Only 48 percent of those polled said they were satisfied with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's performance since the start of the offensive a month ago.

In another sign the tide may have started to turn, mainstream movements known in Israel as "the peace camp" or the "Zionist left," which earlier supported the war, withdrew their support for the military offensive arguing that Israel must accept talks.

On Thursday, August 10, hundreds of demonstrators staged a protest organized by the Peace Now organization and the left-wing Meretz party in front of the defense ministry to condemn the decision to press on with the fighting.

"The war has spiralled out of control and the government is ignoring the political options available," Peace Now spokesman Yariv Oppenheimer said.

In 1982, Peace Now organized a huge demonstration to condemn the role played by Israel in the massacre of Palestinians in Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. It led to the resignation of then defence minister Ariel Sharon.

More than 1,200 Lebanese civilians, one third of whom were children, since Israel launched a large-scale offensive on the claim of seeking the release of two soldiers taken prisoners by Hizbullah.

"Olmert Must Go"

In a front-page article titled "Olmert Must Go," Haaretz daily piled blame on the premier for a series of mistakes.

"There is no mistake Ehud Olmert did not make this past month," senior editorialist Ari Shavit said.

"He went to war hastily, without properly gauging the outcome. He blindly followed the military without asking the necessary questions. The day Nasrallah comes out of his bunker and declares victory to the whole world, Olmert must not be in the prime minister's office," he said.

"Post-war battered and bleeding Israel needs a new start and a new leader. It needs a real prime minister."

Shavit echoed growing criticism that Olmert, who has little military experience, was now having cold feet after ordering Israel's largest military operation in a quarter century.

Right-wing lawmaker Yuval Steinitz also said that "if it accepts a ceasefire, the government will have to resign because it will have handed an unprecedented victory to Hizbullah."

After a wave of international criticism over Lebanese civilian victims and heavy losses endured by ground troops venturing inside Lebanon, Olmert is now being criticized for his mishandling of the war.

The Maariv daily said that Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres has had acrimonious exchanges with Olmert in recent days, notably during Wednesday's security cabinet meeting that gave the go-ahead to an expanded ground offensive.

"Peres criticized the management of the crisis, the lack of thought, the fact that everyone blabs to the media and informs Hizbullah when there will be an operation," the newspaper said.

Hizbullah has inflicted heavy losses on the Israeli army, proving a tenacious foe.

The Lebanese resistance group said Friday its fighters sank an Israeli Super Dvora fast patrol boat off the coast of southern Lebanon, killing at least 12 Israeli sailors.

"At 2:05 pm (1105 GMT), while an Israeli Super Dvora warship was off the coast of Mansouri, south of the city of Tyre, and was aggressing our steadfast people and our civilian regions, the men of the Islamic Resistance attacked the ship with suitable weapons," a Hizbullah statement said.

"They scored a direct hit, destroying it, setting off a fire on it and sinking it," said the statement, read on Hizbullah's Al-Manar television.

"Other Israeli boats and zodiacs rushed to rescue its crew, made up of 12 officers and soldiers and who were killed, wounded or drowned," it said.

Friday's claim was Hizbullah's third since the start of Israel's massive military offensive on Lebanon.

On July 14, just two days after Israel launched its offensive, Hizbullah fired a rocket into a warship off Beirut, killing four Israeli sailors and dealing a severe blow to the Israeli navy.