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Initially, Israel's aerial attack on the Hamas delegation in Doha appeared like yet another escalation that drove the prospect of peace out of reach.

The attack on 9 September violated the territorial integrity of an US partner and risked expanding the hostilities into a broader regional conflict.

Diplomacy seemed to be collapsing.

Instead, it turned out to be a key moment that culminated in a deal, announced by Donald Trump, to free all captives still held.

This is a objective that he, and President Joe Biden previously, had pursued for almost 24 months.

It is just the initial phase towards a lasting resolution, and the details of disarming Hamas, administering Gaza and full Israeli withdrawal remain to be worked out.

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

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

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

Strong Ties Which Eluded Biden

Publicly, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

Trump likes to say that Israel has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has called him as the country's "most supportive friend in the White House". Moreover these positive statements have been backed up by deeds.

During his first presidential term, Trump moved the American diplomatic mission in the country from its former location to Jerusalem and abandoned a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank are against international law, the position under international law.

When Israel began its air strikes against the Islamic Republic in the summer, Trump ordered American aircraft to target the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those visible shows of backing may have allowed the president the room to exert more pressure on Israel behind the scenes. As per sources, Trump's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, browbeat Netanyahu in the latter part of the year into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in return for the freeing of a number of captives.

After Israel launched strikes against Syria's military in July, even hitting a Christian church, Trump pressured his counterpart to alter tactics.

The leader displayed a degree of determination and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is virtually unprecedented, according to Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "There is no example of an American president directly instructing an Israeli leader that you're going to have to comply or else."

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

The Biden team's "close embrace approach" held that the US had to embrace the nation openly in order to allow it to influence the country's military actions behind closed doors.

Underneath this was the president's nearly half-century of support for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Every step Biden took risked fracturing his own domestic support, whereas his successor's loyal conservative voters provided him more room to manoeuvre.

Ultimately, internal considerations or personal relationships may have had little impact than the simple fact that, during Biden's presidency, the Israeli government was not ready to reach an agreement.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with the Islamic Republic chastened, Hezbollah to its northern border greatly diminished and the coastal strip in ruins, every one of its major strategy objectives had been achieved.

Commercial Background Assisted Secure Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in Doha, which resulted in the death of a Qatari citizen but not the intended targets, led Trump to deliver an final demand to Netanyahu. The war had to end.

The US leader had given Israel a significant latitude in Gaza. He provided US armed support to Israel's campaign in the neighboring country. However an attack on Qatar soil was a separate issue entirely, pushing him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several administration figures have told the press that this was a turning point which galvanised the leader to exert maximum pressure to finalize an agreement.

The leader's strong connections with the Gulf states are well documented. Trump has business dealings with Qatar and the UAE. The president began both his presidential terms with official trips to Saudi Arabia. This year, Trump also stopped in Doha and the UAE capital.

His Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between the Jewish state and a number of Arab nations, including the UAE, was the biggest foreign policy success of his initial presidency.

The time he spent in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year helped shift his perspective, according to an expert of the a policy institute. Trump did not visit Israel on this Middle East trip but went to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar where the leader heard repeated calls to bring an end to the war.

Within weeks after that attack on Doha, the president sat nearby as Netanyahu personally called Qatar to apologise. And later that day, the Israeli leader signed off on the president's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that additionally had the backing of key Muslim nations in the area.

If Trump's alliance with Netanyahu gave him the room to pressure the government to reach an agreement, his history with Arab rulers may have secured their backing, and helped them convince Hamas to commit to the deal.

"A key factor that clearly happened was that the US leader gained influence with the Israelis, and indirectly with the militants," notes Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"This was crucial. The capacity to do this on his own schedule, and not succumb to the demands of the warring sides has been a challenge that lot of previous presidents have struggled with, and he appears to do with some success."

The reality that the president is far better liked in the nation than Netanyahu personally was leverage that Trump employed to his benefit, the expert continues.

Currently Israel has agreed to releasing over a thousand detainees imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has consented to a limited pullback from the strip.

The group will release all the remaining hostages, living and dead, taken in the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which resulted in the death of more than 1,200 Israeli citizens.

A conclusion to the war, which has resulted in the devastation of the territory and the deaths of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal