Israel boosts security in wake of Hamas killing

Israel has boosted security at its borders and embassies in the wake of the killing of a senior Hamas militant.

Israel has boosted security at its borders and embassies in the wake of the killing of a senior Hamas militant for which the Palestinian Islamists have blamed the Jewish state, public radio said on Monday.

A senior police officer, meanwhile, told Channel 10 television that barrels packed with explosives were found on Monday on beaches south of Tel Aviv, adding they could have come from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

The militant, Mahmud al-Mabhuh, was found dead in his hotel room in Dubai on January 20, after travelling there from his base in Damascus to buy weapons for the Islamists ruling Gaza.

Hamas has said Israel was behind the killing and on Monday the group's armed wing, which Mabhuh helped found in the 1980s, vowed to avenge the assassination.

- The Zionist enemy will not escape punishment for the crime it has committed, but we will determine the nature of this punishment at the appropriate time and place - said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the group.

He hinted that Hamas might reconsider its long-standing policy of only carrying out attacks within Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, all of which it hopes to one day to transform into an Islamic state.

''The battle with the Zionist enemy is inside the historic borders of Palestine, and the occupation is trying to change the rules of the game ... It should expect anything.''

Israeli media hailed the killing, although Israel's government has not officially commented on it.

Dubai's police chief told AFP on Sunday that Mabhuh's killers could belong to any party that had an interest in his death, including Israel's Mossad foreign intelligence agency.

A police commander told Channel 10 that two barrels packed with explosives washed up on Israeli beaches.

- We found today two big barrels full of explosives which washed up on beaches in Ashkelon and Ashdod, which could have come from the Gaza Strip - the officer, Allon Levavi, was quoted as saying.

Beaches along the Mediterranean coast in southern Israel were declared off limits until further notice amid fears that more explosives could be found in the area.

Channel 10 reported that each barrel was packed with dozens of kilogrammes of explosives.