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Initially, Israel's air strike on the Hamas delegation in Doha appeared like yet another intensification that drove the prospect of a ceasefire further away.

This strike on September 9 violated the territorial integrity of an American ally and threatened expanding the hostilities into a broader regional conflict.

Negotiations seemed to be in ruins.

However, it turned out to be a key moment that has led in a deal, announced by Donald Trump, to release all captives still held.

This is a objective that Trump, and Joe Biden previously, had pursued for nearly two years.

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

But if this agreement stands, it could be Donald Trump's signature achievement of his second term - one that escaped Joe Biden and his diplomatic team.

The president's unique style and key alliances with the Israeli government and the Middle Eastern nations seem to have contributed in this success.

But, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also elements involved beyond the control of either man.

A Close Relationship That Biden Never Had

Publicly, Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

The president likes to say that the nation has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has called Trump as Israel's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". And these warm words have been matched by deeds.

Throughout his first presidential term, the president moved the American diplomatic mission in the country from its former location to Jerusalem and discarded a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are illegal, the view under global norms.

After Israel began its bombing campaign against Iran in the summer, Trump directed American aircraft to strike the nation's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These visible shows of support may have given Trump the leeway to exert more influence on the Israeli government in private. As per sources, Trump's negotiator, his representative, browbeat Netanyahu in late 2024 into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in return for the release of some hostages.

When Israel attacked against Syria's military in July, including bombing a place of worship, Trump pressured Netanyahu to change course.

Trump displayed a level of will and insistence on an Israel's leader that is virtually unprecedented, says an analyst of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "There is no example of an US leader literally telling an Israeli prime minister that you're going to have to comply or else."

Joe Biden's connection with Netanyahu's government was always more strained.

His administration's "bear hug strategy" argued that the United States had to support the nation openly in order to enable it to moderate the country's military actions in private.

Beneath this was Biden's decades-long of backing for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Every step the leader took endangered dividing his own domestic support, while his successor's solid Republican base provided him more room to act.

Ultimately, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had less importance than the simple fact that, throughout Biden's presidency, the Israeli government was not ready to make peace.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with Iran weakened, Hezbollah to its immediate north greatly diminished and Gaza devastated, all its key military goals had been accomplished.

Business History Assisted Gain Gulf's Backing

The Israeli missile attack in the Qatari capital, which killed a Qatari citizen but not the intended targets, prompted the president to issue an ultimatum to the prime minister. Hostilities had to end.

Trump had allowed Israel a relatively free hand in the territory. He lent US armed support to Israel's campaign in the neighboring country. But an attack on Qatar soil was a different matter entirely, moving him closer to 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 maximum pressure to get a peace deal done.

This US president's strong connections with the Gulf states are well documented. He has commercial interests with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He began each of his administrations with state visits to Saudi Arabia. Recently, Trump also visited in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

His Abraham Accords, which established ties between Israel and several Muslim states, including the UAE, was the biggest foreign policy success of his initial presidency.

His visits devoted in the cities of the Arabian Peninsula in recent months contributed to shift his perspective, says an expert of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not travel to the country on this regional tour but visited the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar where he received consistent appeals to put a stop to the conflict.

Within weeks after that Israeli strike on the city, Trump was present nearby as the prime minister personally phoned Qatar to apologise. Subsequently, the Israeli leader gave approval on Trump's comprehensive proposal for Gaza - one that also had the support of key Muslim nations in the area.

If the president's alliance with his counterpart gave him the ability to influence the government to reach an agreement, his history with Arab rulers may have ensured their support, and assisted them convince Hamas to agree to the arrangement.

"One of the things that evidently occurred was that the US leader gained leverage with the Israeli government, and indirectly with Hamas," says Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"This was crucial. His ability to do this on his timing, and avoid yielding to the desires of the combatants has been a problem that many previous presidents have struggled with, and Trump seems to do with some success."

The reality that Trump is much more popular in the nation than the prime minister himself was an advantage that he employed to his benefit, the expert continues.

Currently the Israeli government has agreed to releasing more than 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has agreed to a partial withdrawal from the strip.

The group will release all the captives still held, both alive and deceased, taken in the original 7 October Hamas attack, which caused the death of more than 1,200 Israeli citizens.

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