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

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

Diplomacy seemed to be in ruins.

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

That represents a goal that he, and President Joe Biden before him, had pursued for nearly two years.

This marks just the first step towards a more durable peace, and the specifics of disarming Hamas, Gaza governance and full Israeli withdrawal are still to be negotiated.

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

The president's distinct approach and crucial relationships with the Israeli government and the Arab world seem to have contributed in this success.

But, as with most foreign policy wins, there were also factors involved beyond the influence of both leaders.

Strong Ties Which Biden Never Had

Publicly, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

The president likes to say that Israel has no greater ally, and the Israeli leader has described Trump as Israel's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". And these warm words have been matched by actions.

Throughout his initial time in office, Trump relocated the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the contested capital and discarded a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the Palestinian West Bank are illegal, the position under global norms.

After the Israeli military began its air strikes against Iran in June, the US leader ordered American aircraft to strike the Iran's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These visible shows of backing may have given Trump the room to apply more pressure on the Israeli government behind the scenes. According to reports, the president's envoy, Steve Witkoff, browbeat Netanyahu in late 2024 into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in return for the freeing of some hostages.

When Israeli forces launched strikes against Syrian forces in the summer, even hitting a place of worship, Trump urged Netanyahu to change course.

The leader displayed a degree of determination and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is rarely seen, says an analyst of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an US leader 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.

His administration's "close embrace strategy" argued that the US had to embrace Israel publicly in order to enable it to moderate the country's military actions behind closed doors.

Underneath this was Biden's decades-long of support for Israel, as well as sharp divisions within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Every step Biden took risked dividing his own political backing, whereas his successor's loyal conservative voters provided 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.

Several months into Trump's second term, with Iran weakened, the militant group to its northern border significantly reduced and the coastal strip in ruins, every one of its major strategy objectives had been achieved.

Commercial Background Helped Secure Gulf's Backing

The Israeli missile attack in the Qatari capital, which killed a local national but no Hamas officials, led the president to deliver an final demand to the prime minister. Hostilities had to end.

Trump had allowed the Israeli military a significant latitude in Gaza. The president lent American military might to Israel's campaign in Iran. However an strike on Qatari territory was a separate issue entirely, pushing him towards the Arab position on how best to conclude the conflict.

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

This US president's strong connections with the Arab monarchies are widely known. Trump has business dealings with Qatar and the UAE. The president began both his presidential terms with official trips to the kingdom. Recently, he also visited in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

The president's normalization agreements, which normalised relations between Israel and a number of Arab nations, such as the UAE, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

His visits devoted in the cities of the Gulf region in recent months contributed to change his thinking, says Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not visit the country on this regional tour but went to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar where the leader heard repeated calls to put a stop to the war.

Less than a month after that attack on Doha, the president was present nearby as the prime minister personally called the Qatari leadership to apologise. Subsequently, the prime minister gave approval on Trump's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that additionally had the backing of influential Arab states in the area.

Assuming the president's relationship with his counterpart provided him the ability to pressure Israel to strike a deal, his history with Arab rulers may have secured their support, and helped them convince the group to commit to the deal.

"A key factor that evidently occurred was that President Trump gained influence with the Israelis, and through intermediaries with Hamas," says Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"That made a difference. His ability to do this on his own schedule, and not succumb to the demands of the warring sides has been a challenge that many earlier administrations have struggled with, and he appears to do with some success."

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

Currently the Israeli government has committed to releasing over a thousand Palestinians imprisoned in its jails and has consented to a limited pullback from the strip.

The group will free all the remaining hostages, living and dead, taken during the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which caused the death of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

An end to the conflict, which has led to the destruction of the territory and the deaths of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal