(Reuters) - Two Israelis were killed on Thursday in what Israel's military described as a 'terror attack' at Allenby Crossing, the only gateway for Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied West Bank to Jordan.

The Israeli ambulance service said the two men succumbed to their wounds, while the shooter was killed by security forces.

The Israeli military later said it had killed a "terrorist" at the scene who arrived in a truck transporting humanitarian aid from Jordan and opened fire.

Jordan's government spokesperson said authorities were following up on the incident.

(Corrects in paragraph 11 to Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi, not UAE embassy in Abu Dhabi)

By Alexander Cornwell

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates could downgrade diplomatic ties with Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government annexes part or all of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to three sources briefed on the Gulf Arab state's deliberations.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) -Israeli tanks were seen in two Gaza City areas that are gateways to the city centre, residents said on Thursday, while internet and phone lines were cut off across the Gaza Strip, a sign that ground operations were likely to escalate imminently.

Israeli forces control Gaza City's eastern suburbs and in recent days have been pounding the Sheikh Radwan and Tel Al-Hawa areas, from where they would be positioned to advance on central and western areas where most of the population is sheltering.

Israeli tanks and jets pounded Gaza City, the target of a major ground offensive, on Thursday prompting Palestinians to flee south, where the Israeli military announced the deaths of four soldiers.

AFP journalists and witnesses saw a steady stream of Gazans heading south on foot, in vehicles and on donkey carts -- their meagre belongings piled high.

"There is artillery fire, air strikes, quadcopter and drone gunfire. The bombing never stops," said Aya Ahmed, 32, sheltering with 13 relatives in Gaza City.

BERLIN (Reuters) -The European Union must look to trade deals with countries like India to reduce dependencies, with higher U.S. import tariffs pushing the bloc to diversity its ties, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.

"We want to make a deal with India this year," von der Leyen said at a conference with German business leaders, adding that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured her of his commitment to this goal in a phone call on Wednesday.

By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Leo will keep Pope Francis' signature policies to welcome gay Catholics, discuss women's ordination and give China input on bishop appointments, but is not planning big changes to Church teaching, he said in his first interview, released on Thursday.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani was due to arrive in Washington on Thursday on his first official trip to the U.S. capital since the Islamist new rulers took over Damascus last year, two sources familiar with the visit told Reuters.

During the visit, the first by a Syrian foreign minister to Washington in more than 25 years, Shibani will meet U.S. lawmakers to discuss the lifting of remaining U.S. sanctions on his country, Senator Lindsey Graham was quoted as saying by Axios.

By Jonathan Spicer, Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Humeyra Pamuk

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Some of the most senior U.S. diplomats focused on Syria have been abruptly let go from their posts in recent days, according to five people familiar with the matter, a shake-up that comes as Washington seeks to integrate its Syrian Kurdish allies with the central administration in Damascus.

By Steve Holland, Elizabeth Piper and Andrew MacAskill

LONDON (Reuters) -Donald Trump meets British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday for talks designed to focus the U.S. leader's unprecedented second state visit firmly on global affairs rather than domestic political problems.

After a day of pomp and ceremony in which Trump rode in a carriage with King Charles and feasted at a state banquet, the U.S. president and Starmer will celebrate the unveiling of a 150 billion pound ($205 billion) package of U.S. investment into Britain.

By Sonia Rolley, Jessica Donati and Ange Kasongo

KINSHASA (Reuters) -Congo's army and Rwandan-backed rebels are reinforcing military positions and blaming each other for flouting peace accords in an escalation that experts say risks reigniting the simmering conflict, which U.S. President Donald Trump claims to have ended.