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At first, Israel's aerial attack on the Hamas militant delegation in Doha seemed like yet another escalation that pushed the hope of a ceasefire out of reach.

The attack on September 9 violated the sovereignty of an American ally and threatened widening the conflict into a region-wide war.

Diplomacy appeared to be in ruins.

Instead, it turned out to be a pivotal event that has led in a deal, announced by Donald Trump, to free all captives still held.

This is a objective that Trump, and President Joe Biden before him, had sought for nearly two years.

This marks just the initial phase towards a lasting resolution, and the specifics of disarming Hamas, Gaza governance and complete Israeli pullout remain to be worked out.

Yet if this agreement stands, it could be Donald Trump's signature achievement of his return to office - one that escaped Biden and his diplomatic team.

The president's unique style and key alliances with the Israeli government and the Arab world appear to have contributed in this success.

However, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also elements at play beyond the control of either man.

A Close Relationship Which Eluded Biden

Publicly, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

Trump likes to say that Israel has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has described him as the country's "most supportive friend in the White House". And these warm words have been matched by deeds.

Throughout his first presidential term, the president moved the US embassy in the country from its former location to the contested capital and discarded a traditional American stance that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are against international law, the position under international law.

After the Israeli military began its air strikes against Iran in the summer, Trump directed American aircraft to target the nation's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

Those public demonstrations of support may have allowed the president the room to apply more influence on Israel behind the scenes. As per sources, Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, pressured Netanyahu in late 2024 into agreeing to a halt in fighting in exchange for the freeing of some hostages.

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

Trump displayed a level of will and pressure on an Israel's leader that is virtually unprecedented, according to an analyst of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an US leader literally telling an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

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

His administration's "bear hug strategy" argued that the United States had to support Israel publicly in order to enable it to moderate the nation's war conduct in private.

Beneath this was Biden's decades-long of support for the state, as well as sharp divisions within his political base over the Gaza War. Every step the leader took endangered dividing his own political backing, while Trump's solid Republican base provided him more room to act.

Ultimately, internal considerations or individual ties may have had less importance than the simple fact that, throughout Biden's presidency, Israel was unwilling to reach an agreement.

Eight months into his new administration, with Iran chastened, Hezbollah to its immediate north greatly diminished and the coastal strip in ruins, all its major strategy objectives had been accomplished.

Commercial Background Assisted Gain Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in Doha, which killed a Qatari citizen but not the intended targets, prompted Trump to issue an ultimatum to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to end.

The US leader had given the Israeli military a relatively free hand in Gaza. The president provided American military might to Israel's campaign in Iran. But an attack on Qatar soil was a separate issue completely, moving him closer to the Arab position on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several administration figures have told media outlets that this was a turning point which motivated the leader to exert full force to finalize an agreement.

This US president's strong connections with the Arab monarchies are well documented. He has business dealings with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The president began both his presidential terms with official trips to Saudi Arabia. This year, Trump also stopped in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The president's normalization agreements, which normalised relations between the Jewish state and several Muslim states, such as the UAE, was the biggest foreign policy success of his initial presidency.

The time he spent in the capitals of the Gulf region earlier this year contributed to change his thinking, says Ed Husain of the a policy institute. Trump did not travel to the country on this regional tour but visited the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom and Qatar where the leader received repeated calls to bring an end to the conflict.

Less than a month after that attack on Doha, Trump was present close as the prime minister himself phoned Qatar to apologise. Subsequently, the prime minister gave approval on the president's comprehensive proposal for Gaza - one that additionally had the support of influential Arab states in the area.

If the president's alliance with his counterpart gave him the room to influence the government to reach an agreement, his past with Arab rulers may have secured their backing, and assisted them persuade the group to agree to the deal.

"A key factor that evidently occurred was that President Trump gained leverage with the Israelis, and indirectly with the militants," says an analyst of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"That made a difference. His ability to do this on his timing, and not succumb to the demands of the warring sides has been a challenge that lot of previous presidents have faced, and he appears to do with some success."

The fact that the president is much more popular in the nation than Netanyahu himself was an advantage that Trump used to his benefit, he adds.

Currently the Israeli government has agreed to freeing over a thousand Palestinians imprisoned in its jails and has agreed to a partial withdrawal from the strip.

The group will free all the remaining hostages, both alive and deceased, captured during the initial October 7 assault, which resulted in the death of more than 1,200 Israelis.

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