GAZA, Sept 21: Israeli soldiers shot dead five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Thursday on the bloodiest day in the coastal territory in weeks.

While violence flared, the ruling Islamic militant group Hamas welcomed a statement by the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators endorsing efforts to forge a Palestinian unity government that could help end an international aid blockade.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in a television interview, said he “wholeheartedly” wanted to deal with Palestinian economic hardship in cooperation with the world community and improve chances for a peace dialogue.

He insisted any such efforts must be accompanied by a “cessation of terror” by Palestinian militants.—Reuters