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Initially, the Israeli aerial attack on the Hamas militant delegation in Doha seemed like yet another escalation that pushed the hope of a ceasefire further away.

This strike on 9 September breached the territorial integrity of an US partner and risked expanding the hostilities into a broader regional conflict.

Diplomacy appeared to be collapsing.

However, it turned out to be a key moment that culminated in a agreement, declared by President Donald Trump, to free all captives still held.

This is a goal that Trump, and Joe Biden before him, 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 are still 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 Joe Biden and his diplomatic team.

Trump'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 most diplomatic achievements, there were also elements involved beyond the influence of either man.

Strong Ties Which Biden Never Had

Publicly, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

The president likes to say that the nation has no greater ally, and the Israeli leader has called Trump as Israel's "greatest ever ally in the US presidency". Moreover these positive statements have been matched by actions.

During his initial time in office, Trump moved the US embassy in Israel from its former location to Jerusalem and abandoned a traditional American stance that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are against international law, the view under global norms.

When the Israeli military began its air strikes against the Islamic Republic in the summer, Trump ordered US bombers to target the Iran's atomic sites with its most powerful conventional bombs.

These public demonstrations of backing may have given Trump the room to apply more influence on the Israeli government behind the scenes. As per sources, the president's negotiator, his representative, browbeat Netanyahu in late 2024 into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the freeing of some hostages.

When Israel launched strikes against Syrian forces in July, even hitting a place of worship, the US president urged Netanyahu to alter tactics.

Trump displayed a degree of determination and insistence on an Israeli prime minister that is rarely seen, according to an analyst of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an US leader literally telling an Israeli leader that you're going to have to comply or else."

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

The Biden team's "bear hug strategy" argued that the United States had to support Israel publicly in order to allow it to influence the nation's military actions in private.

Underneath this was the president's decades-long of backing for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his Democratic coalition over the conflict in Gaza. Every step the leader took endangered fracturing his own domestic support, whereas Trump's loyal conservative voters gave him more flexibility to act.

Ultimately, domestic politics or individual ties may have had less importance than the reality that, during his term, the Israeli government was unwilling to reach an agreement.

Eight months into his new administration, with Iran chastened, the militant group to its immediate north significantly reduced and the coastal strip devastated, all its key military goals had been accomplished.

Commercial Background Assisted 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, led Trump to deliver an final demand to the prime minister. The war had to stop.

Trump had allowed the Israeli military a significant latitude in the territory. The president provided American military might to Israel's campaign in Iran. But an strike on Qatar soil was a different matter completely, pushing him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to end the war.

A number of administration figures have informed media outlets that this was a decisive moment which motivated the leader to apply full force to get a peace deal done.

This US president's close ties with the Gulf states are widely known. He has commercial interests with Qatar and the UAE. The president began each of his administrations with state visits to Saudi Arabia. Recently, Trump also visited in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The president's normalization agreements, which normalised relations between Israel and several Muslim states, such as the Emirates, was the most significant foreign policy success of his first term.

His visits devoted in the cities of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year helped change his thinking, according to an expert of the a policy institute. Trump did not travel to Israel on this Middle East trip but went to the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom and Qatar where the leader received repeated calls to put a stop to the war.

Within weeks after that attack on Doha, the president sat close as Netanyahu himself phoned Qatar to express regret. Subsequently, the prime minister gave approval on Trump's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that also had the backing of key Muslim nations in the region.

If Trump's alliance with his counterpart provided him the ability to influence the government to strike a deal, his past with Arab rulers may have ensured their support, and helped them convince Hamas to agree to the arrangement.

"One of the things that clearly happened was that President Trump gained influence with the Israelis, and through intermediaries with Hamas," notes Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"This was crucial. The capacity 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 Trump appears to handle relatively successfully."

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

Currently Israel has agreed to freeing over a thousand Palestinians held in its jails and has agreed to a partial withdrawal from the strip.

Hamas will free all the captives still held, both alive and deceased, taken during the original 7 October assault, which caused the loss of more than 1,200 Israeli citizens.

A conclusion to the war, which has led to the destruction of Gaza and the deaths of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal