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At first, the Israeli aerial attack on the Hamas delegation in Doha seemed like another intensification that pushed the prospect of a ceasefire out of reach.

This strike on 9 September violated the territorial integrity of an American ally and threatened widening the hostilities into a region-wide war.

Negotiations appeared to be collapsing.

However, it proved to be a key moment that has led in a deal, declared by President Donald Trump, to release all captives still held.

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

This marks just the initial phase towards a more durable peace, and the specifics of Hamas disarmament, Gaza governance and complete Israeli pullout are still to be negotiated.

But if this deal stands, it could be Donald Trump's defining accomplishment of his second term - one that eluded 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 success.

However, as with many diplomatic achievements, there were also factors involved beyond the influence of either man.

A Close Relationship That Eluded Biden

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

The president often states that the nation has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has called him as the country's "most supportive friend in the White House". Moreover these warm words have been backed up by actions.

During his first presidential term, the president moved the American diplomatic mission in the country from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and abandoned a traditional American stance that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, the view under global norms.

When Israel began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in the summer, the US leader ordered US bombers to strike the Iran's atomic sites with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those visible shows of backing may have allowed Trump the leeway to apply more influence on Israel in private. As per sources, the president's envoy, Steve Witkoff, browbeat Netanyahu in late 2024 into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the freeing of a number of captives.

When Israel attacked against Syria's military in July, including bombing a Christian church, the US president urged Netanyahu to alter tactics.

Trump displayed a level of will and insistence on an Israel's leader that is rarely seen, according to Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "It's unheard of of an US leader directly instructing an Israeli prime minister that they must agree or else."

Joe Biden's relationship with Netanyahu's government was consistently more strained.

The Biden team's "bear hug strategy" argued that the US had to support the nation openly in order to enable it to influence the country's military actions in private.

Underneath this was Biden's decades-long of backing for the state, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the Gaza War. Every step Biden took risked fracturing his own domestic support, while Trump's solid Republican base gave him more flexibility to act.

In the end, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had less importance than the simple fact that, during his term, the Israeli government was unwilling to make peace.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with the Islamic Republic chastened, Hezbollah to its northern border significantly reduced and Gaza devastated, all its key military goals had been accomplished.

Business History Assisted Secure Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in the Qatari capital, which killed a Qatari citizen but no Hamas officials, led Trump to deliver an ultimatum to Netanyahu. The war had to end.

Trump had allowed the Israeli military a significant latitude in the territory. He lent American military might to Israeli operations in the neighboring country. However an strike on Qatar soil was a different matter completely, pushing him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to end the war.

A number of administration figures have told the press that this was a decisive moment which galvanised the leader to apply full force to finalize an agreement.

This US president's strong connections with the Arab monarchies are widely known. He has business dealings with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He began both his presidential terms with official trips to the kingdom. Recently, Trump also stopped in Doha and the UAE capital.

His normalization agreements, which normalised relations between the Jewish state and a number of Arab nations, including the Emirates, was the biggest foreign policy success of his first term.

The time devoted in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year helped change his thinking, says Ed Husain of the a policy institute. The US president did not travel to the country on this regional tour but went to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar where the leader heard consistent appeals to bring an end to the conflict.

Within weeks after that attack on Doha, Trump was present close as Netanyahu himself called the Qatari leadership to express regret. Subsequently, the prime minister signed off on Trump's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that additionally had the backing of influential Arab states in the region.

If Trump's relationship with his counterpart gave him the room to pressure Israel to strike a deal, his history with Muslim leaders may have secured their support, and helped them persuade the group to commit to the deal.

"A key factor that clearly happened was that the US leader developed leverage with the Israeli government, and indirectly with the militants," notes Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"That made a difference. The capacity to achieve this on his own schedule, and not succumb to the desires of the combatants has been a problem that many previous presidents have struggled with, and he appears to do relatively successfully."

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

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

The group will free all the captives still held, living and dead, captured during the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which caused the death of more than 1,200 Israelis.

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