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At first, the Israeli air strike on the Hamas militant delegation in Doha seemed like yet another intensification that pushed the prospect of a ceasefire further away.

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

Diplomacy seemed to be in ruins.

However, it turned out to be a pivotal event that culminated in a agreement, declared by Donald Trump, to release all captives still held.

This is a objective that he, and President Joe Biden before him, had sought for almost 24 months.

It is just the initial phase towards a more durable peace, and the specifics of Hamas disarmament, administering Gaza and full Israeli withdrawal remain to be negotiated.

But if this deal holds, it could be Trump's defining accomplishment of his return to office - one that eluded Biden and his diplomatic team.

The president's distinct approach and crucial relationships with the Israeli government and the Middle Eastern nations appear to have played a role in this breakthrough.

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

A Close Relationship Which Eluded Biden

In public, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

Trump likes to say that the nation has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has described Trump as Israel's "greatest ever ally in the White House". And these positive statements have been matched by deeds.

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

When Israel began its air strikes against the Islamic Republic in June, Trump directed American aircraft to strike the Iran's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These public demonstrations of support may have allowed Trump the leeway to apply more influence on the Israeli government in private. According to reports, the president's envoy, his representative, pressured Netanyahu in late 2024 into accepting a halt in fighting in exchange for the release of some hostages.

After Israeli forces attacked against Syria's military in the summer, even bombing a Christian church, Trump pressured Netanyahu to change course.

Trump exhibited a degree of will and insistence on an Israel's leader that is virtually unprecedented, according to Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an American president directly instructing an Israeli leader that you're going to have to comply or else."

Joe Biden's connection with the Israeli administration was always more tenuous.

The Biden team's "close embrace strategy" held that the US had to support the nation openly in order to allow it to influence the nation's military actions in private.

Underneath this was the president's nearly half-century of support for the state, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Each move the leader took endangered fracturing his own political backing, whereas Trump's solid Republican base provided him more flexibility to manoeuvre.

In the end, internal considerations or individual ties may have had little impact than the simple fact that, during Biden's presidency, Israel was not ready to reach an agreement.

Several months into Trump's second term, with Iran weakened, the militant group to its immediate north significantly reduced and the coastal strip in ruins, every one of its key military goals had been accomplished.

Commercial Background Assisted Gain Support from Arab States

The Israeli missile attack in the Qatari capital, which killed a Qatari citizen but not the intended targets, led the president to deliver an ultimatum to Netanyahu. The war had to stop.

The US leader had allowed Israel a significant latitude in the territory. The president lent American military might to Israeli operations in Iran. But an attack on Qatari territory was a different matter entirely, moving him towards the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several administration figures have informed the press that this was a turning point which galvanised the leader to apply full force to finalize an agreement.

This US president's close ties with the Gulf states are widely known. He has business dealings with Qatar and the UAE. He began each of his administrations with state visits to the kingdom. This year, Trump also stopped in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The president's Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between Israel and a number of Arab nations, including the UAE, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his first term.

His visits he spent in the cities of the Gulf region earlier this year contributed to change his thinking, says Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not visit Israel on this regional tour but visited the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the state where he heard consistent appeals to put a stop to the war.

Within weeks after that Israeli strike on the city, Trump sat nearby as the prime minister personally phoned Qatar to apologise. And later that day, the prime minister signed off on Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza - one that additionally had the backing of influential Arab states in the area.

Assuming Trump's relationship with Netanyahu provided him the ability to influence Israel to reach an agreement, his history with Arab rulers may have secured their backing, and assisted them convince Hamas to commit to the arrangement.

"A key factor that evidently occurred was that the US leader gained influence with the Israeli government, and indirectly with Hamas," notes Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"This was crucial. His ability to achieve this on his timing, and not succumb to the demands of the warring sides has been a challenge that many previous presidents have struggled with, and he seems to handle relatively successfully."

The reality that Trump is much more popular in Israel than Netanyahu personally was leverage that Trump used to his advantage, the expert continues.

Now the Israeli government has committed to freeing more than 1,000 detainees imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has consented to a limited pullback from the strip.

Hamas will free all the remaining hostages, living and dead, captured in the initial October 7 assault, which resulted in the loss of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

A conclusion to the conflict, which has led to the destruction of the territory and the fatalities of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal