The beleaguered premier remained defiant in the face of the mutiny from his centrist Kadima party, which piled on the enormous public pressure for him to quit after the inquiry blasted his leadership during the 34-day war.

"To all those who are in haste in order to take advantage of the report for political profit, I tell them not to be hasty," Olmert warned at the opening of an extraordinary cabinet meeting.

He spoke after an aide to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni -- a top Kadima official considered one of the frontrunners to take over the party leadership -- said she would ask Olmert to quit during a meeting later in the day.

"She is expected to ask him to resign," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Should she issue the call, Livni would become the most senior member in Olmert's ruling coalition and within his party to join those clamouring for the weakened premier to step down.

Meanwhile, Israeli media cited aides to Defence Minister Amir Peretz -- the Labour party leader whom the report roasted for failing in his functions during the war -- saying that he would resign within the coming hours.

"Mr Peretz took this decision as he is ratifying the report's conclusions and is aiming to conform to norms of behaviour required of those who exercise public office," the website of the tabloid Maariv quoted an aide as saying.

Peretz's office declined to comment on the reports and an ally, Labour MP Yoram Marciano, said Peretz was weighing the pros and cons, but had not taken a definitive decision.

Olmert thus far has admitted to "extremely serious failures" in leadership during last summer's devastating war against Hezbollah, but has refused to bow to the ever-increasing pressure to quit.

His Kadima party can not forcibly oust him as its charter does not spell out such a procedure.

Hours before the cabinet meeting, Kadima's parliamentary bloc head Avigdor Itzchaky also called on Olmert to step down, saying it would be "suicidal" for the party, formed a year and a half ago, if the premier remained.

Two of Kadima's 29 deputies in the 120-seat parliament on Tuesday openly called on him to resign and a senior party official told AFP that a majority of Kadima MPs wanted him to quit. The party was to meet later on Wednesday.

A minister from Kadima's main coalition partner Labour, Eitan Cabel, resigned on Tuesday saying he could not longer serve under Olmert.

Polls published on Wednesday showed that between 65 and 68 percent of Israelis want Olmert to quit, and only six percent think he is capable of carrying out the functions of his office.