The pier was built on an Army ship off the coast of Gaza by roughly 1,000 American troops. The project had hoped to bring in 90 trucks’ worth of aid per day, scaling up to 150 before long. In reality, progress has stalled: Over the course of this past week—the first the pier has been opened—only 70 trucks total have reached warehouses, with 11 of those looted along the way.

Taiwan heats up: Lai Ching-te, a fierce critic of Beijing and defender of Taiwan’s sovereignty, was sworn in as president on Monday. China responded by launching at least 15 navy vessels, 16 coast guard vessels, and 42 aircraft, totally encircling the island, meting out what they call “strong punishment” and a warning to Taiwan’s new president.

The last time this happened was in response to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island. Chinese military officials say that this time they intend to send “a stern warning against the interference and provocation by external forces”—meaning the United States. This time is a little more intense, too, in that the Chinese military is also surrounding the islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu, and Dongyin, which sit close to the mainland’s coast, as well as the east side of the island, near the mountains (where a lot of Taiwan’s military infrastructure is allegedly housed).

Taiwan sees itself as independent and self-governing, whereas China sees it as a rogue territory that needs to be brought back under Chinese control. It seems like the Chinese government wants “to show the Americans that any effort to resupply or re-enforce Taiwan from the east is vulnerable to Chinese missile strikes and naval attack,” per the BBC.