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Initially, Israel's air strike on the Hamas delegation in Qatar seemed like another intensification that pushed the hope of a ceasefire out of reach.

The attack on September 9 violated the territorial integrity of an US partner and risked widening the hostilities into a broader regional conflict.

Diplomacy seemed to be collapsing.

Instead, it proved to be a pivotal event that culminated in a deal, declared by Donald Trump, to release all captives still held.

That represents a goal that Trump, and Joe Biden before him, had sought for nearly two years.

This marks just the initial phase towards a lasting resolution, and the details of disarming Hamas, Gaza governance and full Israeli withdrawal remain to be worked out.

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

Trump's distinct approach and key alliances with Israel and the Arab world seem to have played a role in this breakthrough.

However, as with most foreign policy wins, there were also elements involved beyond the control of either man.

A Close Relationship That Eluded Biden

In public, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

The president often states that the nation has no better friend, and the Israeli leader has called Trump as Israel's "greatest ever ally in the White House". And these warm words have been matched by actions.

Throughout his first presidential term, Trump moved the US embassy in the country from its former location to the contested capital and abandoned a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are illegal, the view under international law.

After the Israeli military began its air strikes against the Islamic Republic in June, the US leader ordered US bombers to strike the Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These public demonstrations of backing may have allowed Trump the leeway to apply more influence on the Israeli government behind the scenes. As per sources, the president's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, browbeat the prime minister in late 2024 into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of some hostages.

When Israeli forces launched strikes against Syrian forces in July, including bombing a place of worship, Trump urged his counterpart to alter tactics.

Trump exhibited a level of determination and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is virtually unprecedented, according to Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "There is no example of an American president literally telling an Israeli prime minister that you're going to have to comply or else."

Joe Biden's relationship with the Israeli administration was always more tenuous.

His administration's "close embrace strategy" held that the United States had to embrace Israel openly in order to enable it to moderate the country's war conduct behind closed doors.

Underneath this was Biden's decades-long of support for Israel, as well as sharp divisions within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Every step the leader took risked fracturing his own political backing, whereas Trump's loyal conservative voters gave him more flexibility to act.

Ultimately, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had less importance than the reality that, throughout Biden's presidency, Israel was not ready to make peace.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with the Islamic Republic weakened, Hezbollah to its immediate north significantly reduced and the coastal strip devastated, 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 killed a Qatari citizen but no Hamas officials, led the president to issue an ultimatum to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to end.

The US leader had allowed Israel a relatively free hand in Gaza. He lent American military might to Israel's campaign in the neighboring country. However an strike on Qatar soil was a separate issue completely, moving him towards the Arab position on how best to end the war.

Several administration figures have told the press that this was a turning point which galvanised the president to exert maximum pressure to finalize an agreement.

The leader's strong connections with the Arab monarchies are well documented. Trump has business dealings with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The president began both his presidential terms with state visits to Saudi Arabia. This year, he also visited in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The president's normalization agreements, which normalised relations between the Jewish state and a number of Arab nations, such as the Emirates, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

The time devoted in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year contributed to change his thinking, says an expert of the a policy institute. The US president did not travel to Israel on this Middle East trip but went to the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom and the state where the leader heard repeated calls to bring an end to the war.

Less than a month after that Israeli strike on Doha, the president was present close as Netanyahu personally called the Qatari leadership to express regret. Subsequently, the Israeli leader gave approval on Trump's comprehensive proposal for Gaza - one that additionally had the backing of key Muslim nations in the region.

Assuming the president's alliance with his counterpart provided him the room to pressure the government to strike a deal, his past with Muslim leaders may have secured their backing, and helped them persuade Hamas to commit to the deal.

"A key factor that clearly happened 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.

"That made a difference. His ability to do this on his timing, and not succumb to the demands of the warring sides has been a problem that many previous presidents have struggled with, and Trump seems to handle relatively successfully."

The reality that Trump is much more popular in the nation than the prime minister himself was leverage that Trump employed to his advantage, the expert continues.

Now Israel has agreed to releasing more than 1,000 Palestinians held in its jails and has agreed to a partial withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas will free all the captives still held, both alive and deceased, taken in the original 7 October assault, which caused the death of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

An end to the war, which has resulted in the devastation of the territory and the fatalities of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal