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

This strike on September 9 violated the territorial integrity of an American ally and risked expanding the conflict into a broader regional conflict.

Diplomacy appeared to be collapsing.

However, it proved to be a key moment that culminated in a deal, declared by Donald Trump, to free all captives still held.

This is a objective 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 Hamas disarmament, Gaza governance and complete Israeli pullout remain to be worked out.

But if this agreement holds, it could be Trump's signature achievement of his second term - one that eluded Biden and his administration.

Trump's distinct approach and crucial relationships with Israel and the Arab world seem to have played a role in this success.

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

A Close Relationship That Biden Never Had

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

The president likes to say that the nation has no better friend, and Netanyahu has called him as the country's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". And these positive statements have been backed up by actions.

During his first presidential term, Trump moved the US embassy in the country from its former location to Jerusalem and discarded a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, the view under global norms.

When Israel began its air strikes against Iran in June, Trump ordered American aircraft to strike the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These public demonstrations of backing may have allowed the president the room to apply more influence on the Israeli government in private. As per sources, the president's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, browbeat the prime minister in late 2024 into agreeing to a halt in fighting in exchange for the freeing of a number of captives.

After Israel launched strikes against Syria's military in July, including hitting a Christian church, Trump urged Netanyahu to alter tactics.

The leader displayed a level of will and insistence on an Israel's leader that is virtually unprecedented, says an analyst of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "It's unheard of of an US leader directly instructing an Israeli prime minister that they must agree or else."

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

The Biden team's "bear hug approach" held that the US had to embrace Israel publicly in order to enable it to moderate the nation's military actions behind closed doors.

Beneath this was the president's nearly half-century of support for the state, as well as sharp divisions within his Democratic coalition over the conflict in Gaza. Every step Biden took endangered dividing his own domestic support, while Trump's loyal conservative voters provided him more room to act.

Ultimately, internal considerations or individual ties may have had little impact than the reality that, throughout Biden's presidency, Israel was unwilling to reach an agreement.

Eight months into his new administration, with the Islamic Republic chastened, Hezbollah to its northern border significantly reduced and Gaza in ruins, every one of its major strategy objectives had been accomplished.

Business History Helped Secure Support from Arab States

The Israeli missile attack in the Qatari capital, which killed a local national but not the intended targets, prompted Trump to issue an final demand to the prime minister. Hostilities had to stop.

Trump had allowed the Israeli military a significant latitude in the territory. He lent US armed support to Israeli operations in Iran. But an strike on Qatari territory was a different matter entirely, pushing him towards the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several administration figures have told the press that this was a decisive moment which galvanised the leader to apply full force to finalize an agreement.

This US president's close ties with the Gulf states are well documented. Trump has commercial interests with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The president began both his presidential terms with state visits to the kingdom. This year, he also visited in Qatar and the UAE capital.

His Abraham Accords, which established ties between Israel and a number of Arab nations, such as the UAE, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

His visits he spent in the cities of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year contributed to shift his perspective, says Ed Husain of the a policy institute. Trump did not visit Israel on this Middle East trip but visited the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the state where the leader heard consistent appeals to put a stop to the war.

Within weeks after that Israeli strike on the city, Trump sat close as the prime minister personally called the Qatari leadership to express regret. Subsequently, the prime minister gave approval on Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza - one that also had the backing of key Muslim nations in the region.

If the president's alliance with Netanyahu gave him the ability to influence Israel to reach an agreement, his past with Muslim leaders may have ensured their backing, and assisted them convince the group to agree to the deal.

"A key factor that clearly happened was that the US leader developed influence with the Israelis, 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 demands of the warring sides has been a problem that lot of previous presidents have struggled with, and he seems to handle with some success."

The fact that the president is much more popular in the nation than Netanyahu himself was leverage that he used to his benefit, he adds.

Now Israel has committed to releasing more than 1,000 Palestinians held in its jails and has agreed to a limited pullback from the strip.

The group will release all the captives still held, both alive and deceased, taken during the original 7 October Hamas attack, which resulted in the death of more than 1,200 Israelis.

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