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Initially, the Israeli air strike on the Hamas militant delegation in Qatar seemed like yet another intensification that drove the prospect of peace out of reach.

The attack on September 9 violated the sovereignty of an American ally and risked expanding the hostilities into a region-wide war.

Negotiations seemed to be collapsing.

However, it turned out to be a pivotal event that culminated in a agreement, declared by Donald Trump, to release all remaining hostages.

This is a goal that Trump, and Joe Biden previously, had pursued for nearly two years.

It is just the initial phase towards a lasting resolution, and the specifics of Hamas disarmament, Gaza governance and full Israeli withdrawal remain to be worked out.

But if this agreement stands, it could be Donald Trump's signature achievement of his return to office - one that eluded Biden and his diplomatic team.

Trump's unique style and crucial relationships with the Israeli government and the Middle Eastern nations appear to have contributed in this success.

But, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also elements at play beyond the influence of either man.

A Close Relationship Which Biden Never Had

In public, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

Trump often states that Israel has no better friend, and Netanyahu has called him as Israel's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". Moreover these warm words have been backed up by deeds.

Throughout his first presidential term, Trump relocated the US embassy in Israel from its former location to Jerusalem and discarded a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank are against international law, the view under international law.

After Israel began its air strikes against Iran in June, the US leader directed US bombers to target the nation's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These public demonstrations of support may have allowed Trump the room to apply more influence on the Israeli government in private. According to reports, Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, pressured Netanyahu in late 2024 into accepting a halt in fighting in exchange for the release of some hostages.

When Israeli forces attacked against Syrian forces in July, even hitting a place of worship, the US president urged Netanyahu to change course.

Trump exhibited a degree of determination and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is virtually unprecedented, says Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an American president directly instructing an Israeli prime minister that they must agree or else."

Joe Biden's connection with Netanyahu's government was always more strained.

The Biden team's "close embrace strategy" argued that the US had to embrace the nation openly in order to allow it to influence the nation's military actions behind closed doors.

Beneath this was the president's nearly half-century of support for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the Gaza War. Each move Biden took risked fracturing his own domestic support, whereas Trump's loyal conservative voters gave him more room to act.

In the end, internal considerations or individual ties may have had less importance than the reality that, throughout Biden's presidency, the Israeli government was not ready to make peace.

Eight months into his new administration, with the Islamic Republic weakened, the militant group to its northern border significantly reduced and Gaza in ruins, all its major strategy objectives had been accomplished.

Commercial Background Helped Gain Support from Arab States

An Israeli strike in Doha, which resulted in the death of a Qatari citizen but not the intended targets, led Trump to deliver an final demand to Netanyahu. The war had to end.

Trump had allowed the Israeli military a relatively free hand in the territory. The president lent American military might to Israel's campaign in Iran. However an strike on Qatari territory was a separate issue completely, pushing him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to end the war.

Several administration figures have told the press that this was a turning point which galvanised the leader to exert full force to get a peace deal done.

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

The president's Abraham Accords, which established ties between Israel and a number of Arab nations, including the UAE, was the biggest foreign policy success of his initial presidency.

The time he spent in the capitals of the Gulf region in recent months helped shift his perspective, according to Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. The US president did not travel to the country on this regional tour but went to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar where the leader heard repeated calls to put a stop to the war.

Less than a month after that attack on the city, the president sat nearby as Netanyahu personally called the Qatari leadership to apologise. And later that day, the prime minister gave approval on Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza - one that additionally had the support of key Muslim nations in the area.

Assuming the president's alliance with his counterpart gave him the room to pressure Israel to strike a deal, his history with Muslim leaders may have ensured their support, and assisted them convince the group to agree to the arrangement.

"One of the things that evidently occurred was that President Trump developed leverage with the Israelis, and indirectly with the militants," notes Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"This was crucial. The capacity to do this on his timing, and not succumb to the desires of the warring sides has been a problem that lot of previous presidents have faced, and Trump seems to do with some success."

The fact that the president is far better liked in the nation than the prime minister himself was leverage that Trump employed to his advantage, he adds.

Now the Israeli government has committed to releasing over a thousand Palestinians held in its jails and has agreed to a limited pullback from Gaza.

The group will release all the captives still held, both alive and deceased, captured in the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which caused the death of over 1,200 Israelis.

A conclusion to the war, which has resulted in the destruction of the territory and the deaths of more than 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal