This contradicts media reports that “the dock has been built off U.S. naval vessels.” Part of the delay is that “one of the ships deployed to support the mission of building a pier to deliver aid to starving residents in Gaza was forced to turn back last week after it suffered a fire in its engine room.” Apparently, they found a substitute or can function with one less ship, as Ryder said yesterday that “all the necessary vessels are within the Mediterranean region and standing by, as I mentioned, to begin construction when given the order to do that.”

As for the security concerns:

While the Pentagon maintains that no U.S. troops will deploy into Gaza, it has disclosed little about how long the operation could last and how it intends to ensure the safety of those involved, alarming some in Congress and other critics of the president’s plan. Military officials declined to answer questions from The Washington Post about where the pier will be located and what security measures will be taken, citing a desire not to telegraph its plans.

And as for whether this benevolent gift from the U.S. government has spurred Hamas to release some hostages, not only have we not seen any hostages released since then, Hamas won’t even give updated numbers on how many hostages are alive or dead.