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At first, the Israeli aerial attack on the Hamas militant delegation in Qatar seemed like another escalation that pushed the hope of peace further away.

This strike on September 9 breached the territorial integrity of an US partner and threatened expanding the hostilities into a region-wide war.

Diplomacy appeared to be collapsing.

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

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

It is just the initial phase towards a lasting resolution, and the details of disarming Hamas, administering Gaza and full Israeli withdrawal remain to be negotiated.

Yet if this deal stands, it could be Donald Trump's defining accomplishment of his second term - one that eluded Joe Biden and his administration.

The president's unique style and crucial relationships with Israel and the Arab world seem to have played a role in this success.

But, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also factors involved beyond the control of both leaders.

A Close Relationship Which Eluded Biden

In public, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

Trump often states that Israel has no better friend, and the Israeli leader has called him as Israel's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". And these positive statements have been matched by actions.

During his initial time in office, the president moved the US embassy in the country from its former location to the contested capital and abandoned a long-held US position that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are against international law, the position under international law.

After Israel began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in June, Trump ordered US bombers to target the Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities with its most powerful conventional bombs.

These public demonstrations of support may have given Trump the leeway to apply more influence on the Israeli government behind the scenes. According to reports, Trump's envoy, his representative, browbeat the prime minister in late 2024 into accepting a halt in fighting in exchange for the freeing of a number of captives.

After Israel attacked against Syrian forces in July, including hitting a place of worship, Trump urged Netanyahu to change course.

The leader displayed a level of determination and pressure on an Israel's leader that is rarely seen, says an analyst of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "It's unheard of of an US leader literally telling an Israeli prime minister that they must agree or else."

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

The Biden team's "close embrace approach" held that the US had to support the nation openly in order to enable it to influence the country's war conduct behind closed doors.

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

In the end, internal considerations or individual ties may have had less importance than the simple fact that, during his term, Israel was unwilling to reach an agreement.

Eight months into his new administration, with Iran chastened, the militant group to its immediate north greatly diminished and Gaza in ruins, every one of its key military goals had been achieved.

Commercial Background Assisted Gain Gulf's Backing

The Israeli missile attack in Doha, which killed a local national but not the intended targets, prompted Trump to issue an ultimatum to the prime minister. Hostilities had to end.

Trump had given Israel a significant latitude in the territory. The president lent US armed support to Israeli operations in the neighboring country. However an strike on Qatari territory was a separate issue completely, pushing him towards the Arab position on how best to end the war.

A number of Trump officials have told the press that this was a decisive moment which galvanised the president to exert maximum pressure to get a peace deal done.

The leader's close ties with the Arab monarchies are well documented. He has commercial interests with Qatar and the UAE. He began both his presidential terms with official trips to the kingdom. This year, he also stopped in Qatar and the UAE capital.

The president's normalization agreements, which normalised relations between Israel and a number of Arab nations, including the Emirates, was the biggest foreign policy success of his initial presidency.

The time devoted in the capitals of the Gulf region in recent months contributed to change his thinking, says Ed Husain of the a policy institute. Trump did not travel to the country on this regional tour but visited the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the state where he received repeated calls to put a stop to the conflict.

Within weeks after that Israeli strike on the city, Trump sat nearby as Netanyahu personally phoned the Qatari leadership to express regret. Subsequently, the Israeli leader signed off on Trump's 20-point peace plan for the territory - one that additionally had the backing of key Muslim nations in the region.

If Trump's alliance with Netanyahu gave him the ability to influence Israel to strike a deal, his past with Arab rulers may have secured their support, and helped them convince the group to commit to the deal.

"A key factor that evidently occurred was that the US leader developed influence with the Israelis, and indirectly with the militants," says an analyst of the a research center.

"That made a difference. His ability to do this on his timing, and avoid yielding to the desires of the warring sides has been a problem that lot of earlier administrations have faced, and he seems to do relatively successfully."

The fact that Trump is much more popular in Israel than Netanyahu himself was an advantage that Trump employed to his benefit, he adds.

Currently Israel has committed to releasing over a thousand Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and has consented to a limited pullback from Gaza.

Hamas will free all the captives still held, living and dead, taken in the original 7 October assault, which resulted in the death of over 1,200 Israelis.

An end to the war, which has led to the destruction of Gaza and the deaths of more than 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal