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At first, Israel's aerial attack on the Hamas militant delegation in Qatar appeared like yet another intensification that pushed the hope of a ceasefire further away.

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

Diplomacy seemed to be collapsing.

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

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

It is just the initial phase towards a more durable peace, and the specifics of Hamas disarmament, Gaza governance and complete Israeli pullout remain to be worked out.

Yet if this agreement holds, it could be Trump's defining accomplishment of his return to office - one that eluded Biden and his administration.

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

But, as with many diplomatic achievements, there were also factors involved beyond the influence of both leaders.

Strong Ties Which Biden Never Had

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

The president likes to say that the nation has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has described him as the country's "most supportive friend in the White House". And these warm words have been matched by deeds.

Throughout his initial time in office, the president moved the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and discarded a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are against international law, the view under international law.

After the Israeli military began its bombing campaign against Iran in June, the US leader directed American aircraft to strike the Iran's atomic sites with its most powerful conventional bombs.

These visible shows of support may have allowed the president the room to apply more pressure on Israel in private. As per sources, the president's envoy, his representative, pressured Netanyahu in late 2024 into accepting a halt in fighting in return for the release of some hostages.

When Israeli forces attacked against Syria's military in the summer, including hitting a Christian church, the US president urged Netanyahu to change course.

The leader displayed a degree of will and insistence on an Israel's leader that is rarely seen, according to an analyst of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an US leader literally telling an Israeli leader that they must agree 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 publicly in order to allow it to moderate the nation's military actions in private.

Underneath this was Biden's decades-long of support for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his Democratic coalition over the Gaza War. Each move the leader took risked fracturing his own domestic support, while his successor's loyal conservative voters gave him more flexibility to act.

Ultimately, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had less importance than the simple fact that, during Biden's presidency, the Israeli government was unwilling to reach an agreement.

Eight months into his new administration, with Iran weakened, Hezbollah to its immediate north significantly reduced and the coastal strip in ruins, every one of its major strategy objectives had been achieved.

Commercial Background Assisted Secure Support from Arab States

An Israeli strike in Doha, which resulted in the death of a local national but not the intended targets, prompted the president to deliver an ultimatum to the prime minister. The war had to stop.

Trump had given Israel a significant latitude in the territory. The president lent US armed support to Israel's campaign in Iran. However 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 the press that this was a turning point which motivated the leader to apply full force to get a peace deal done.

The leader's strong connections with the Gulf states are widely known. He has commercial interests with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He began both his presidential terms with state visits to the kingdom. This year, he also stopped in Qatar and the UAE capital.

His Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between Israel and a number of Arab nations, such as the UAE, was the most significant 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, says Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not travel to the country on this regional tour but visited the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar where the leader received repeated calls to put a stop to the war.

Within weeks after that attack on Doha, Trump sat close as the prime minister personally called Qatar to express regret. And later that day, the prime minister signed off on the president's 20-point peace plan for Gaza - one that additionally had the support of influential Arab states in the area.

If the president's relationship with Netanyahu gave him the room to pressure the government to strike a deal, his past with Arab rulers may have ensured their support, and helped them persuade the group to agree to the deal.

"One of the things that evidently occurred was that President Trump gained influence with the Israeli government, and through intermediaries with the militants," says an analyst of the a research center.

"That made a difference. The capacity to do this on his own schedule, and avoid yielding to the demands of the warring sides has been a problem that lot of earlier administrations have faced, and Trump appears 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 Trump used to his advantage, the expert continues.

Currently the Israeli government has agreed to freeing more than 1,000 detainees held in Israeli prisons and has agreed to a limited pullback from the strip.

Hamas will free all the captives still held, both alive and deceased, taken in the original 7 October assault, which caused the loss of more than 1,200 Israeli citizens.

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