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

The attack on 9 September violated the sovereignty of an American ally and risked widening the hostilities into a region-wide war.

Diplomacy appeared to be in ruins.

However, it proved to be a pivotal event that has led in a deal, declared by President Donald Trump, to free all captives still held.

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

It is just the initial phase towards a lasting resolution, and the details of disarming Hamas, Gaza governance and complete Israeli pullout are still to be worked out.

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

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

However, as with most foreign policy wins, there were also factors at play beyond the influence of either man.

Strong Ties Which Biden Never Had

In public, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

The president often states that the nation has no greater ally, and the Israeli leader has called Trump as the country's "most supportive friend in the White House". Moreover these positive statements have been backed up by actions.

During his first presidential term, Trump moved the American diplomatic mission in the country from Tel Aviv to the contested capital and abandoned a long-held US position that Jewish communities in the Palestinian West Bank are illegal, the view under global norms.

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

These visible shows of support may have allowed Trump the room to exert more influence on Israel behind the scenes. As per sources, the president's envoy, Steve Witkoff, browbeat the prime minister in late 2024 into agreeing to a halt in fighting in return for the freeing of some hostages.

After Israeli forces attacked against Syrian forces in July, including hitting a place of worship, the US president urged his counterpart to alter tactics.

Trump displayed a level of will and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is rarely seen, according to an analyst of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "It's unheard of of an American president directly instructing an Israeli prime minister that you're going to have to comply or else."

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

His administration's "bear hug strategy" held that the United States had to support Israel publicly in order to allow it to moderate the country's war conduct in private.

Underneath this was Biden's nearly half-century of support for Israel, as well as sharp divisions within his Democratic coalition over the conflict in Gaza. Each move Biden took risked dividing his own political backing, while Trump's loyal conservative voters provided him more room to manoeuvre.

Ultimately, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had little impact than the simple fact that, throughout Biden's presidency, Israel was not ready to reach an agreement.

Several months into his new administration, with the Islamic Republic chastened, Hezbollah to its immediate north significantly reduced and Gaza in ruins, every one of its key military goals had been achieved.

Commercial Background Assisted Secure Support from Arab States

An Israeli strike in Doha, which resulted in the death of a Qatari citizen but no Hamas officials, prompted the president to issue an final demand to Netanyahu. The war had to end.

Trump had given Israel a significant latitude in the territory. He lent American military might to Israel's campaign in Iran. But an strike on Qatar soil was a separate issue completely, moving him towards the stance of Arab nations on how best to end the war.

Several administration figures have told media outlets that this was a turning point which motivated the leader to apply maximum pressure to finalize an agreement.

This US president's strong connections with the Gulf states are well documented. He has business dealings with the emirate and the UAE. He began each of his administrations with official trips to the kingdom. Recently, he also visited in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The president's Abraham Accords, which established ties between Israel and a number of Arab nations, including the UAE, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

The time devoted in the capitals of the Gulf region earlier this year contributed to change his thinking, says an expert of the Council on Foreign Relations. The US president did not travel to Israel on this Middle East trip but visited the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar where he heard consistent appeals to bring an end to the conflict.

Within weeks after that attack on Doha, the president was present close as the prime minister himself phoned Qatar to apologise. Subsequently, the prime minister signed off on Trump's 20-point peace plan for the territory - one that also had the support of key Muslim nations in the region.

If Trump's relationship with his counterpart gave him the room to influence Israel to strike a deal, his history with Arab rulers may have ensured their backing, and assisted them convince the group to commit to the arrangement.

"A key factor that evidently occurred was that President Trump developed leverage with the Israeli government, and indirectly with the militants," notes an analyst of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"That made a difference. The capacity to achieve this on his timing, and avoid yielding to the demands of the combatants has been a problem that many earlier administrations have faced, and Trump seems to do with some success."

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

Currently the Israeli government has agreed to releasing over a thousand detainees imprisoned in its jails and has agreed to a limited pullback from the strip.

The group will release all the remaining hostages, both alive and deceased, captured in the initial October 7 assault, which caused the loss of more than 1,200 Israelis.

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