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Initially, the Israeli aerial attack on the Hamas militant negotiating team in Qatar appeared like another intensification that pushed the prospect of peace out of reach.

This strike on 9 September breached the sovereignty of an American ally and threatened widening the hostilities into a broader regional conflict.

Diplomacy seemed to be in ruins.

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

This is a objective that Trump, and Joe Biden before him, had pursued for almost 24 months.

This marks just the first step towards a more durable peace, and the specifics of Hamas disarmament, Gaza governance and full Israeli withdrawal are still to be negotiated.

But if this deal holds, it could be Donald Trump's signature achievement of his second term - one that escaped Joe Biden and his diplomatic team.

The president's distinct approach and crucial relationships with Israel and the Middle Eastern nations seem to have played a role in this success.

But, as with many diplomatic achievements, there were also factors involved beyond the influence of either man.

Strong Ties Which Eluded Biden

In public, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

Trump often states that the nation has no better friend, and Netanyahu has described Trump as the country's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". Moreover these warm words have been matched by deeds.

During his first presidential term, the president moved the American diplomatic mission in Israel from its former location to Jerusalem and discarded a traditional American stance that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, the view under global norms.

When Israel began its air strikes against the Islamic Republic in the summer, the US leader directed American aircraft to target the nation's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

Those visible shows of support may have allowed Trump the leeway to apply more influence on Israel in private. As per sources, the president's envoy, his representative, pressured Netanyahu in late 2024 into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the freeing of a number of captives.

After Israeli forces attacked against Syria's military in the summer, including hitting a Christian church, Trump pressured Netanyahu to alter tactics.

The leader displayed a degree of determination and insistence on an Israeli prime minister that is rarely seen, says Aaron David Miller 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."

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

His administration's "bear hug strategy" argued that the US had to support Israel openly in order to enable it to influence the country's military actions in private.

Underneath this was Biden's nearly half-century of support for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Every step the leader took endangered dividing his own domestic support, whereas his successor's loyal conservative voters gave him more flexibility to manoeuvre.

In the end, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had less importance than the simple fact that, during his term, Israel was unwilling to make peace.

Several months into Trump's second term, with the Islamic Republic weakened, Hezbollah to its immediate north significantly reduced and the coastal strip in ruins, all its major strategy objectives had been accomplished.

Business History Assisted Gain Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in Doha, which resulted in the death of a local national but not the intended targets, led the president to issue an final demand to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to stop.

Trump had allowed Israel a significant latitude in the territory. The president lent US armed support to Israeli operations in Iran. But an strike on Qatari territory was a separate issue completely, pushing him towards the stance of Arab nations on how best to end the war.

Several Trump officials have told media outlets that this was a decisive moment which motivated the leader to exert full force to finalize an agreement.

This US president's strong connections with the Gulf states are well documented. He has business dealings with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He began both his presidential terms with state visits to Saudi Arabia. This year, he also stopped in Doha and the UAE capital.

His normalization agreements, which established ties between Israel and several Muslim states, such as the Emirates, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

The time devoted in the cities of the Gulf region earlier this year contributed to change his thinking, according to Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. The US president did not visit the country on this Middle East trip but visited the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom and Qatar where the leader received repeated calls to put a stop to the conflict.

Within weeks after that attack on Doha, the president sat close as the prime minister personally phoned Qatar to apologise. And later that day, the Israeli leader gave approval on the president's 20-point peace plan for the territory - one that also had the support of key Muslim nations in the region.

Assuming Trump'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 backing, and helped them convince the group to commit to the arrangement.

"One of the things that clearly happened was that President Trump gained leverage with the Israeli government, and indirectly with the militants," says an analyst of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"This was crucial. The capacity to achieve this on his timing, and not succumb to the demands of the combatants has been a challenge that many previous presidents have faced, and he seems to do with some success."

The reality that the president is far better liked in Israel than the prime minister himself was an advantage that Trump used to his advantage, the expert continues.

Now the Israeli government has committed to releasing more than 1,000 detainees held in its jails and has consented to a partial withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas will release all the remaining hostages, living and dead, captured during the original 7 October Hamas attack, which caused the loss of more than 1,200 Israeli citizens.

An end to the conflict, which has led to the destruction of the territory and the fatalities of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal