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At first, the Israeli aerial attack on the Hamas delegation in Doha seemed like yet another escalation that pushed the hope 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 seemed to be in ruins.

Instead, it turned out to be a key moment that has led in a deal, announced by Donald Trump, to release all remaining hostages.

That represents a objective that he, and Joe Biden previously, had pursued for almost 24 months.

It is just the initial phase towards a more durable peace, and the specifics of Hamas disarmament, Gaza governance and full Israeli withdrawal are still to be negotiated.

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

The president's distinct approach and key alliances with the Israeli government and the Middle Eastern nations seem to have played a role in this breakthrough.

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

A Close Relationship That Eluded Biden

Publicly, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

The president often states that Israel has no better friend, and Netanyahu has described him as the country's "most supportive friend in the White House". And these warm words have been matched by actions.

During his initial time in office, the president relocated the American diplomatic mission in the country from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and discarded a traditional American stance that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are against international law, the position under global norms.

After the Israeli military began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in the summer, the US leader ordered American aircraft to target the Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities with its most powerful conventional bombs.

These public demonstrations of support may have allowed the president the room to apply more influence on Israel in private. As per sources, the president's envoy, his representative, browbeat the prime minister in late 2024 into agreeing to a halt in fighting in return for the freeing of a number of captives.

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

The leader 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. "It's unheard of of an American president literally telling an Israeli prime minister that you're going to have to comply or else."

Biden's relationship with Netanyahu's government was consistently more strained.

His administration's "close embrace strategy" held that the US had to embrace the nation publicly in order to enable it to influence the nation'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 risked fracturing his own political backing, whereas Trump's loyal conservative voters provided him more room to act.

In the end, internal considerations or individual ties may have had little impact than the simple fact that, throughout his term, Israel was unwilling to reach an agreement.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with Iran weakened, Hezbollah to its northern border significantly reduced and Gaza in ruins, all its major strategy objectives had been accomplished.

Commercial Background Helped Gain Gulf's Backing

The Israeli missile attack in the Qatari capital, which resulted in the death of a local national but no Hamas officials, prompted the president to deliver an final demand to the prime minister. The war had to end.

The US leader had allowed the Israeli military a relatively free hand in the territory. He provided US armed support to Israel's campaign in Iran. But an attack on Qatar soil was a separate issue entirely, pushing him towards the Arab position on how best to conclude the conflict.

A number of Trump officials have told the press that this was a turning point which motivated the president to exert maximum pressure to finalize an agreement.

The leader's close ties with the Gulf states are well documented. He has business dealings with the emirate and the United Arab Emirates. He began each of his administrations with state visits to Saudi Arabia. Recently, Trump also stopped in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

The president's Abraham Accords, which established ties between the Jewish state and several Muslim states, such as the UAE, was the most significant foreign policy success of his first term.

The time he spent in the capitals 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 regional tour but went to the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom and the state where the leader received repeated calls to bring an end to the war.

Less than a month after that attack on the city, Trump was present close as Netanyahu personally called Qatar to apologise. Subsequently, the prime minister signed off on the president's 20-point peace plan for Gaza - one that additionally had the backing of key Muslim nations in the area.

If the president's alliance with Netanyahu gave him the room to pressure Israel to strike a deal, his past with Arab rulers may have secured their support, and helped them persuade Hamas to agree to the arrangement.

"One of the things that evidently occurred was that President Trump gained leverage with the Israeli government, and through intermediaries with Hamas," says Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"This was crucial. His ability to do this on his own schedule, and avoid yielding to the demands of the combatants has been a problem that many previous presidents have struggled with, and he appears to handle relatively successfully."

The reality that Trump is far better liked in the nation than the prime minister personally was an advantage that Trump used to his benefit, he adds.

Currently the Israeli government has committed to freeing more than 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has agreed to a partial withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas will release all the captives still held, living and dead, captured in the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which caused the death of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

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