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Initially, Israel's aerial attack on the Hamas delegation in Doha seemed like another escalation that drove the prospect of a ceasefire further away.

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

Diplomacy seemed to be in ruins.

Instead, it proved to be a pivotal event that culminated in a agreement, announced by President Donald Trump, to release all remaining hostages.

That represents a goal that Trump, and Joe Biden before him, had pursued for almost 24 months.

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

Yet if this deal holds, it could be Donald Trump's defining accomplishment of his return to office - one that escaped Joe Biden and his administration.

Trump's unique style and key alliances with the Israeli government and the Arab world seem to have played a role in this success.

But, as with most foreign policy wins, there were also elements involved beyond the influence of either man.

A Close Relationship That Biden Never Had

Publicly, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

The president likes to say that the nation has no better friend, and Netanyahu has called him as the country's "greatest ever ally in the US presidency". Moreover these positive statements have been matched by actions.

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 long-held US position that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are against international law, the view under international law.

After Israel began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in the summer, the US leader directed American aircraft to target the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

Those visible shows of support may have allowed the president the leeway to exert more influence on Israel behind the scenes. As per sources, Trump's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, browbeat the prime minister in late 2024 into accepting a temporary ceasefire in return for the release of a number of captives.

After Israel attacked against Syria's military in July, including bombing a Christian church, Trump pressured Netanyahu to change course.

The leader displayed a degree of will and pressure on an Israel's leader that is rarely seen, according to an analyst of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an US leader directly instructing an Israeli prime minister that they must agree or else."

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

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

Underneath this was the president's decades-long of backing for the state, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Every step Biden took risked dividing his own domestic support, whereas Trump's loyal conservative voters gave him more flexibility to manoeuvre.

In the end, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had less importance than the reality that, throughout Biden's presidency, Israel was not ready to make peace.

Several months into his new administration, with Iran weakened, Hezbollah to its northern border significantly reduced and Gaza devastated, every one of its key military goals had been achieved.

Business History Assisted Secure Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in Doha, which resulted in the death of a local national but no Hamas officials, led the president to issue an final demand to Netanyahu. The war had to end.

The US leader had allowed the Israeli military a significant latitude in the territory. The president lent American military might to Israeli operations in Iran. But an strike on Qatari territory was a different matter completely, pushing him closer to the stance of Arab nations 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 apply maximum pressure to get a peace deal done.

The leader's close ties with the Gulf states are well documented. Trump has commercial interests with the emirate and the UAE. He began each of his administrations with state visits to the kingdom. Recently, he also visited in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

His normalization agreements, which normalised relations between Israel and several Muslim states, including the UAE, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his first term.

His visits he spent in the cities of the Gulf region in recent months contributed to change his thinking, says Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. The US president did not travel to the country on this regional tour but went to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar where he heard repeated calls to put a stop to the conflict.

Less than a month after that Israeli strike on Doha, the president sat close as the prime minister himself called the Qatari leadership to express regret. And later that day, the prime minister gave approval on Trump's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that additionally had the support of influential Arab states in the region.

If the president's relationship with his counterpart provided him the room to pressure Israel to strike a deal, his history with Arab rulers may have ensured their support, and helped them persuade the group to agree to the arrangement.

"One of the things that evidently occurred was that President Trump gained influence with the Israelis, and indirectly with the militants," says an analyst of the a research center.

"That made a difference. His ability to do this on his own schedule, and avoid yielding to the desires of the warring sides has been a problem that lot of earlier administrations have struggled with, and he seems to do with some success."

The reality that the president is far better liked in Israel than the prime minister personally was an advantage that he used to his benefit, the expert continues.

Currently Israel has agreed to freeing more than 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has consented to a limited pullback from the strip.

The group will free all the remaining hostages, both alive and deceased, captured in the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which caused the death of more than 1,200 Israeli citizens.

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