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Initially, the Israeli aerial attack on the Hamas militant delegation in Doha seemed like another intensification that pushed the hope of peace out of reach.

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

Negotiations seemed to be collapsing.

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

This is a goal that he, and Joe Biden previously, had sought for almost 24 months.

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 negotiated.

Yet if this agreement stands, it could be Donald Trump's signature achievement of his second term - one that eluded Joe Biden and his diplomatic team.

Trump's unique style and crucial relationships with Israel and the Middle Eastern nations appear to have played a role in this success.

But, as with many foreign policy wins, there were also elements involved beyond the influence of either man.

A Close Relationship That Biden Never Had

Publicly, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

Trump often states that Israel has no better friend, and the Israeli leader has called him as the country's "greatest ever ally in the US presidency". And these warm words have been matched by actions.

During his initial time in office, the president relocated the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the contested capital and discarded a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are illegal, the position under international law.

When Israel began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in the summer, Trump ordered US bombers to strike the Iran's atomic sites with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those visible shows of support may have given Trump the room to apply more influence on the Israeli government behind the scenes. According to reports, the president's negotiator, his representative, pressured Netanyahu in late 2024 into agreeing to a halt in fighting in exchange for the release of a number of captives.

When Israel attacked against Syrian forces in the summer, even hitting a Christian church, the US president urged Netanyahu to change course.

Trump exhibited a level of will and pressure on an Israel's leader that is virtually unprecedented, says an analyst of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "There is no example of an American president directly instructing an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

Joe Biden's relationship with the Israeli administration was consistently more strained.

The Biden team's "bear hug approach" held that the United States had to embrace Israel openly in order to allow it to influence the country's military actions behind closed doors.

Underneath this was the president's decades-long of support for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his Democratic coalition over the Gaza War. Every step Biden took endangered dividing his own domestic support, while his successor's loyal conservative voters provided him more flexibility to act.

Ultimately, internal considerations or personal relationships may have had little impact than the simple fact that, during Biden's presidency, Israel was unwilling to reach an agreement.

Several months into his new administration, with Iran weakened, Hezbollah to its northern border significantly reduced and Gaza in ruins, all its major strategy objectives had been achieved.

Commercial Background Helped Secure Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in the Qatari capital, which resulted in the death of a local national but not the intended targets, prompted the president to deliver an final demand to the prime minister. Hostilities had to stop.

Trump had allowed Israel a significant latitude in the territory. The president lent US armed support to Israel's campaign in Iran. However an strike on Qatari territory was a different matter entirely, moving him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

A number of administration figures have told media outlets that this was a turning point which galvanised the president to apply full force to get a peace deal done.

This US president's strong connections with the Arab monarchies are widely known. He has business dealings with Qatar and the UAE. He began both his presidential terms with state visits to the kingdom. Recently, he also visited in Qatar and the UAE capital.

The president's Abraham Accords, which established ties between the Jewish state and a number of Arab nations, such as the Emirates, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his first term.

His visits devoted in the cities of the Gulf region in recent months contributed to shift his perspective, says an expert of the a policy institute. The US president did not visit the country on this regional tour but visited the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom and the state where he heard consistent appeals to bring an end to the conflict.

Less than a month after that Israeli strike on Doha, Trump sat nearby as the prime minister personally phoned the Qatari leadership to apologise. And later that day, the Israeli leader gave approval on Trump's 20-point peace plan for the territory - one that also had the support of key Muslim nations in the region.

If the president's alliance with his counterpart provided him the ability to influence Israel to reach an agreement, his past with Muslim leaders may have secured their support, and helped them persuade Hamas to commit to the deal.

"A key factor that evidently occurred was that the US leader gained leverage with the Israeli government, and through intermediaries with the militants," says Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"This was crucial. His ability to achieve this on his own schedule, and avoid yielding to the desires of the warring sides has been a challenge that many previous presidents have struggled with, and Trump seems to do with some success."

The fact that the president is much more popular in Israel than the prime minister personally was leverage that Trump employed to his benefit, he adds.

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

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

A conclusion to the war, which has led to the devastation of Gaza and the fatalities of more than 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal