Here’s what’s on tap today: what Israel’s UNRWA ban means for Palestinians, U.S. private security contractors head to Gaza , and an escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo .

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report, where we’re consuming unspeakable amounts of coffee after days of watching confirmation hearings.

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report, where we’re consuming unspeakable amounts of coffee after days of watching confirmation hearings.

Here’s what’s on tap today: what Israel’s UNRWA ban means for Palestinians, U.S. private security contractors head to Gaza, and an escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

UNRWA Ban Goes into Effect

Israel’s ban on UNRWA, the primary United Nations aid agency for Palestinians, went into effect on Jan. 30, and it’s expected to have rippling consequences across the region—particularly in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. UNRWA is now barred from operating on Israeli soil, and Israeli authorities are prohibited from interacting with the U.N. agency.

The ban, a product of two pieces of legislation passed by the Knesset last October, is going into force amid a fragile cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, and it threatens to inject more instability into an already precarious situation.

“Across the Gaza Strip, Palestinians are turning to UNRWA—the agency they have known all their lives—for support,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told the U.N. Security Council on Jan. 28. “Curtailing our operations now—outside a political process, and when trust in the international community is so low—will undermine the cease-fire.