It was the first suicide attack at an Israeli seaport during more than three years of Israeli-Palestinian violence; 111 previous suicide attacks have killed at least 450 people.

Two of the bodies nearby were those of suicide bombers, police said. The force of the explosions threw some victims some distance from the scene, said rescue services spokesman Yerucham Mendola.

Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a Palestinian militant group, claimed responsibility for the bombings in cooperation with Hamas.

The seaport of Ashdod is on the Mediterranean coast in the southern part of Israel, not far from the Gaza Strip. So far in the conflict, no Palestinian bombers have managed to leave the Gaza Strip which is surrounded by a security fence to attack Israel.

Last year, two British citizens used their foreign passports to exit Gaza with explosives, one of them bombing a night spot in Tel Aviv. The other was found dead later.

Israel is building a barrier in the West Bank aimed at stopping suicide bombers and other attackers, but Palestinians object because the planned route cuts deep into their territory.