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Initially, Israel's aerial attack on the Hamas delegation in Doha appeared like another intensification that drove the prospect of a ceasefire further away.

The attack on 9 September breached the territorial integrity of an American ally and threatened widening the hostilities into a broader regional conflict.

Diplomacy appeared to be in ruins.

However, it turned out to be a pivotal event that culminated in a agreement, announced by President Donald Trump, to release all remaining hostages.

That represents a goal that he, and President Joe Biden previously, had sought for almost 24 months.

It is just the first step towards a lasting resolution, and the specifics of disarming Hamas, administering Gaza and complete Israeli pullout are still to be negotiated.

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

The president's unique style and crucial relationships with the Israeli government and the Middle Eastern nations appear to have contributed 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, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

The president often states that Israel has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has called Trump 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 American diplomatic mission in the country from Tel Aviv to the contested capital and discarded a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are against international law, the position under global norms.

When Israel began its air strikes against Iran in the summer, Trump directed US bombers to target the Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those visible shows of support may have given the president the room to exert more pressure on Israel in private. As per sources, the president's envoy, Steve Witkoff, browbeat the prime minister in late 2024 into accepting a halt in fighting in return for the freeing of some hostages.

After Israeli forces launched strikes against Syria's military in July, including bombing a place of worship, the US president urged his counterpart 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 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "It's unheard of of an American president directly instructing an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

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

The Biden team's "bear hug approach" held that the United States had to embrace Israel openly in order to enable it to influence the nation's military actions in private.

Underneath this was Biden's decades-long of backing for the state, as well as deep disagreements within his Democratic coalition over the Gaza War. Every step Biden took endangered fracturing his own political backing, whereas his successor's solid Republican base gave him more flexibility to manoeuvre.

In the end, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had less importance than the reality that, during Biden's presidency, the Israeli government was not ready to reach an agreement.

Eight months into his new administration, with the Islamic Republic chastened, the militant group to its northern border significantly reduced and Gaza in ruins, all its major strategy objectives had been achieved.

Commercial Background Assisted Gain Support from Arab States

An Israeli strike in Doha, which resulted in the death of a local national but no Hamas officials, led Trump to issue an final demand to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to stop.

The US leader had given the Israeli military a significant latitude in Gaza. The president lent American military might to Israel's campaign in Iran. However an attack on Qatar soil was a separate issue entirely, pushing him towards the Arab position on how best to end the war.

Several Trump officials have told the press that this was a turning point which motivated the leader to apply maximum pressure to get a peace deal done.

The leader's strong connections with the Gulf states are well documented. He has business dealings with the emirate and the UAE. The president began both his presidential terms with official trips to the kingdom. Recently, Trump also stopped in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

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

The time devoted in the capitals of the Gulf region in recent months helped change his thinking, says Ed Husain of the a policy institute. Trump did not visit the country on this regional tour but went to the UAE, the kingdom and Qatar where the leader heard consistent appeals to put a stop to the conflict.

Less than a month after that attack on Doha, the president sat nearby as the prime minister himself phoned the Qatari leadership to apologise. Subsequently, the prime minister signed off on Trump's comprehensive proposal for Gaza - one that additionally had the support of influential Arab states in the region.

Assuming Trump's alliance with his counterpart provided him the room to influence Israel to reach an agreement, his past with Muslim leaders may have ensured their support, and assisted them persuade the group to commit to the deal.

"A key factor that clearly happened was that President Trump gained leverage with the Israeli government, and through intermediaries with the militants," notes an analyst of the a research center.

"That made a difference. The capacity to achieve this on his timing, and not succumb to the desires of the combatants has been a challenge that many earlier administrations have struggled with, and Trump appears to do with some success."

The reality that Trump is much more popular in Israel than the prime minister personally was an advantage that he used to his benefit, the expert continues.

Currently Israel has committed to freeing more than 1,000 detainees held in its jails and has agreed to a limited pullback from Gaza.

Hamas will release all the remaining hostages, both alive and deceased, captured during the original 7 October Hamas attack, which caused the death of over 1,200 Israelis.

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