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Initially, Israel's air strike on the Hamas negotiating team in Doha appeared like another escalation that pushed the prospect of a ceasefire out of reach.

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

Diplomacy appeared to be in ruins.

However, it proved to be a key moment that has led in a agreement, announced by Donald Trump, to free all remaining hostages.

That represents a objective that he, and President Joe Biden before him, had pursued for almost 24 months.

This marks just the initial phase towards a lasting resolution, and the details of Hamas disarmament, administering Gaza and complete Israeli pullout are still to be worked out.

But if this agreement holds, it could be Donald Trump's signature achievement of his second term - one that eluded Joe Biden and his administration.

Trump's distinct approach and key alliances with Israel and the Arab world appear to have contributed in this breakthrough.

However, as with many foreign policy wins, there were also elements at play beyond the influence of both leaders.

Strong Ties Which Eluded Biden

Publicly, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

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

During his initial time in office, the president moved the US embassy in Israel from its former location to the contested capital and discarded a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are illegal, the position under international law.

When Israel began its bombing campaign against Iran in June, the US leader directed US bombers to target the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

Those public demonstrations of support may have allowed the president the leeway to exert more pressure on the Israeli government in private. As per sources, Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, pressured the prime minister in late 2024 into agreeing to a halt in fighting in exchange for the freeing of a number of captives.

When Israeli forces attacked against Syrian forces in the summer, even hitting a place of worship, Trump pressured his counterpart to alter tactics.

The leader exhibited a degree of determination and pressure 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 US leader directly instructing an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

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

His administration's "close embrace approach" argued that the United States had to embrace Israel publicly in order to allow it to moderate the nation's war conduct in private.

Underneath this was the president's nearly half-century of backing for the state, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Every step Biden took endangered dividing his own political backing, while his successor's solid Republican base provided him more flexibility to act.

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

Eight months into his new administration, with the Islamic Republic chastened, the militant group to its immediate north significantly reduced and the coastal strip devastated, all its key military goals had been achieved.

Commercial Background Helped Secure Support from Arab States

An Israeli strike in Doha, which killed a local national but not the intended targets, prompted Trump to issue an ultimatum to the prime minister. The war had to end.

The US leader had given Israel a significant latitude in Gaza. The president provided US armed support to Israel's campaign in the neighboring country. But an strike on Qatar soil was a separate issue entirely, moving him towards the Arab position on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several administration figures have informed media outlets that this was a turning point which galvanised the leader to exert full force to get a peace deal done.

This US president's strong connections with the Gulf states are widely known. Trump has commercial interests 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 the UAE capital.

His Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between the Jewish state and several Muslim states, including the Emirates, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his first term.

The time devoted in the capitals of the Gulf region earlier this year helped shift his perspective, according to Ed Husain of the a policy institute. Trump did not travel to Israel on this regional tour but visited the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the state where he received consistent appeals to put a stop to the war.

Less than a month after that attack on the city, Trump sat close as the prime minister personally phoned Qatar to apologise. Subsequently, the prime minister gave approval on Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza - one that additionally had the support of key Muslim nations in the area.

If the president's alliance with Netanyahu provided him the ability to pressure the government to reach an agreement, his history with Arab rulers may have secured their backing, and helped them persuade Hamas to commit to the arrangement.

"A key factor that clearly happened was that President Trump developed influence with the Israeli government, and indirectly with the militants," notes Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"That made a difference. His ability to achieve this on his timing, and not succumb to the desires of the combatants has been a problem that lot of earlier administrations have struggled with, and he appears to do with some success."

The fact that the president is far better liked in the nation than Netanyahu personally was an advantage that Trump employed to his advantage, he adds.

Currently the Israeli government has committed to freeing over a thousand Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and has consented to a partial withdrawal from Gaza.

The group will release all the captives still held, living and dead, captured during the initial October 7 assault, which resulted in the loss of more than 1,200 Israeli citizens.

An end to the war, which has resulted in the devastation of Gaza and the deaths of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal