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Initially, Israel's aerial attack on the Hamas militant negotiating team in Doha seemed like another intensification that pushed the hope of a ceasefire further away.

This strike on September 9 violated the sovereignty of an US partner and risked expanding the conflict into a broader regional conflict.

Diplomacy appeared to be in ruins.

Instead, it proved to be a key moment that has led in a agreement, announced by Donald Trump, to free all captives still held.

That represents a objective that Trump, and President Joe Biden before him, had pursued for almost 24 months.

This marks just the first step towards a lasting resolution, and the details of disarming Hamas, administering Gaza and complete Israeli pullout remain to be negotiated.

But if this agreement holds, it could be Trump's defining accomplishment of his second term - one that escaped Joe Biden and his diplomatic team.

The president's distinct approach and key alliances with Israel and the Middle Eastern nations appear to have played a role in this breakthrough.

But, as with most foreign policy wins, there were also elements at play beyond the influence of either man.

Strong Ties That Biden Never Had

Publicly, Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

The president often states that the nation has no better friend, and the Israeli leader has described him as Israel's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". And these warm words have been matched by actions.

Throughout his initial time in office, Trump relocated the US embassy in the country from Tel Aviv to the contested capital and abandoned a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are against international law, the view under global norms.

After the Israeli military began its bombing campaign against Iran in the summer, Trump directed US bombers to strike the nation's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These visible shows of support may have allowed Trump the leeway to exert more pressure on Israel in private. As per sources, Trump's envoy, his representative, browbeat the prime minister in late 2024 into accepting a temporary ceasefire in return for the freeing of a number of captives.

After Israeli forces attacked against Syria's military in July, even bombing a Christian church, the US president urged his counterpart to change course.

The leader exhibited a degree of will and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is rarely seen, according to an analyst of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an American president directly instructing an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

Joe Biden's relationship with Netanyahu's government was always more tenuous.

The Biden team's "bear hug strategy" held that the United States had to support Israel publicly in order to enable it to moderate the nation's military actions in private.

Beneath this was Biden's nearly half-century of backing for the state, as well as sharp divisions within his Democratic coalition over the Gaza War. Each move the leader took endangered dividing his own political backing, while his successor's loyal conservative voters gave him more flexibility to act.

In the end, domestic politics or individual ties may have had less importance than the simple fact that, throughout Biden's presidency, Israel was unwilling to make peace.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with Iran weakened, the militant group to its northern border significantly reduced and Gaza in ruins, every one of its key military goals had been accomplished.

Business History Assisted Gain Support from Arab States

The Israeli missile attack in the Qatari capital, which resulted in the death of a local national but no Hamas officials, led Trump to deliver an final demand to the prime minister. Hostilities had to end.

Trump had given the Israeli military a relatively free hand in Gaza. He provided US armed support to Israel's campaign in Iran. But an attack on Qatar soil was a separate issue completely, pushing him towards the Arab position on how best to end the war.

Several Trump officials have told the press that this was a decisive moment which motivated the leader to exert full force to get a peace deal done.

The leader's strong connections with the Gulf states are well documented. Trump has business dealings with the emirate and the United Arab Emirates. The president began both his presidential terms with official trips to the kingdom. This year, he also visited in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

His Abraham Accords, which established ties between Israel and a number of Arab nations, including the UAE, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

His visits devoted in the cities of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year contributed to shift his perspective, according to Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not visit the country on this regional tour but visited the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the state where he heard repeated calls to put a stop to the war.

Within weeks after that attack on Doha, Trump sat close as the prime minister himself phoned Qatar to express regret. Subsequently, the prime minister signed off on the president's comprehensive proposal for Gaza - one that also had the backing of influential Arab states in the region.

Assuming Trump's alliance with his counterpart provided him the room to pressure Israel to strike a deal, his past with Arab rulers may have secured their backing, and assisted them convince the group to agree to the arrangement.

"One of the things that clearly happened was that President Trump gained influence with the Israeli government, and indirectly with Hamas," notes Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"That made a difference. His ability to achieve this on his timing, and not succumb to the desires of the combatants has been a challenge that many previous presidents have faced, and Trump appears to handle with some success."

The fact that the president is much more popular in the nation than Netanyahu himself was leverage that Trump used to his benefit, the expert continues.

Currently the Israeli government has committed to releasing more than 1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and has consented to a partial withdrawal from Gaza.

The group will release all the remaining hostages, both alive and deceased, captured in the original 7 October assault, which resulted in the loss of more than 1,200 Israelis.

An end to the conflict, which has resulted in the destruction of the territory and the deaths of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal