Gaza fires rockets before Bush address

JERUSALEM, May 15 (UPI) -- A rocket fired from Gaza hit a shopping center in southern Israel within hours of U.S. President George Bush's Israeli peace conference address, officials said.

Two women and a female child received serious wounds from the Wednesday rocket fire, which was initiated by the Islamic Jihad, The New York Times reported.

It is reported Bush was in Israel celebrating the 60th anniversary of the country's founding.

The Israeli city of Ashkelon, located about 10 miles outside the Gaza Strip, was hit with at least 20 foreign rockets during end of February and beginning of March, the Times said.

The Times said Bush's five-day Mideast visit kicked off with a military orchestra greeting at the airport in Tel Aviv, Israel.