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Initially, the Israeli air strike on the Hamas delegation in Qatar appeared like another intensification that pushed the hope of peace further away.

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

Negotiations seemed to be collapsing.

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

That represents a objective that Trump, and Joe Biden before him, had pursued for nearly two years.

This marks just the first step towards a lasting resolution, and the details of Hamas disarmament, Gaza governance and complete Israeli pullout remain to be negotiated.

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

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

But, as with many diplomatic achievements, there were also elements at play beyond the control of either man.

Strong Ties That Biden Never Had

In public, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

The president likes to say that the nation has no greater ally, and the Israeli leader has described him as the country's "greatest ever ally in the White House". Moreover these warm words have been matched by deeds.

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

When the Israeli military began its bombing campaign against Iran in June, the US leader ordered US bombers to strike the nation's atomic sites with its most powerful conventional bombs.

These public demonstrations of backing may have given the president the room to exert more pressure on the Israeli government in private. According to reports, the president's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, browbeat Netanyahu 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 the summer, even hitting a Christian church, the US president urged his counterpart to change course.

Trump exhibited a degree of will and insistence on an Israel's leader that is rarely seen, says Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "There is no example of an US leader literally telling an Israeli leader that you're going to have to comply or else."

Biden's connection with Netanyahu's government was consistently more tenuous.

The Biden team's "close embrace approach" held that the United States had to embrace Israel openly in order to allow it to moderate the country's military actions behind closed doors.

Beneath this was the president's decades-long of support for the state, as well as sharp divisions within his Democratic coalition over the Gaza War. Every step Biden took endangered dividing his own political backing, whereas his successor's solid Republican base gave him more room to act.

Ultimately, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had little impact than the simple fact that, during his term, the Israeli government was unwilling to make peace.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with Iran weakened, Hezbollah to its immediate north greatly diminished and Gaza in ruins, all its major strategy objectives had been achieved.

Business History Assisted Gain Support from Arab States

The Israeli missile attack in the Qatari capital, which killed a local national but no Hamas officials, led Trump to issue an ultimatum to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to stop.

The US leader had given the Israeli military a relatively free hand in Gaza. He lent American military might to Israel's campaign in the neighboring country. However an strike on Qatar soil was a separate issue completely, pushing him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

A number of Trump officials have informed the press that this was a turning point which galvanised the leader to exert maximum pressure to finalize an agreement.

The leader's close ties with the Arab monarchies are widely known. Trump has commercial interests with Qatar and the UAE. The president began both his presidential terms with state visits to Saudi Arabia. Recently, he also stopped in Qatar and the UAE capital.

The president's normalization agreements, which established ties between Israel and several Muslim states, including the Emirates, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his first term.

His visits he spent in the cities of the Arabian Peninsula in recent months helped change his thinking, says Ed Husain of the a policy institute. Trump did not visit Israel on this Middle East trip but went to the UAE, the kingdom and Qatar where he received repeated calls to bring an end to the conflict.

Less than a month after that attack on the city, Trump sat close as Netanyahu himself called the Qatari leadership to apologise. Subsequently, the Israeli leader signed off on Trump's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that also had the backing of influential Arab states in the region.

Assuming the president's relationship with Netanyahu gave him the ability to pressure the government to reach an agreement, his history with Arab rulers may have secured their backing, and helped them persuade Hamas to agree to the arrangement.

"A key factor that clearly happened was that the US leader developed influence with the Israeli government, and indirectly with the militants," notes an analyst of the a research center.

"This was crucial. His ability to do this on his own schedule, and not succumb to the demands of the combatants has been a problem that many previous presidents have faced, and he seems to handle relatively successfully."

The reality that the president is far better liked in the nation than the prime minister personally was an advantage that he employed to his benefit, the expert continues.

Currently Israel has committed to releasing more than 1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and has consented to a partial withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas will free all the captives still held, both alive and deceased, captured in the original 7 October assault, which caused the death of more than 1,200 Israelis.

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