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At first, Israel's aerial attack on the Hamas militant delegation in Doha seemed like another intensification that pushed the hope of a ceasefire further away.

The attack on September 9 breached the sovereignty of an US partner and threatened expanding the hostilities into a region-wide war.

Negotiations seemed to be collapsing.

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

That represents a goal that Trump, and Joe Biden before him, had pursued for nearly two years.

It is just the initial phase towards a lasting resolution, and the details of Hamas disarmament, administering Gaza and complete Israeli pullout are still to be negotiated.

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

The president's unique style and crucial relationships with Israel and the Middle Eastern nations appear to have played a role in this breakthrough.

But, as with many foreign policy wins, there were also elements involved beyond the control of both leaders.

Strong Ties That Eluded Biden

In public, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

The president likes to say that the nation has no greater ally, and the Israeli leader has called him as the country's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". Moreover these positive statements have been backed up by deeds.

Throughout his initial time in office, Trump moved the American diplomatic mission in Israel from Tel Aviv to the contested capital and discarded a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, the view under international law.

After Israel began its bombing campaign against Iran in June, the US leader directed US bombers to strike the nation's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These visible shows of backing may have allowed the president the leeway to apply more influence on the Israeli government in private. As per sources, Trump's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, browbeat the prime minister in late 2024 into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in return for the release of a number of captives.

After Israel launched strikes against Syrian forces in July, even hitting a place of worship, Trump urged his counterpart to alter tactics.

The leader exhibited a level of determination and insistence on an Israeli prime minister that is virtually unprecedented, says Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an American president directly instructing an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

Biden's connection with the Israeli administration was always more strained.

His administration's "bear hug strategy" argued that the United States had to support the nation openly in order to allow it to influence the nation's war conduct in private.

Beneath this was the president's nearly half-century of support for the state, as well as sharp divisions within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Every step Biden took risked dividing his own domestic support, whereas his successor's loyal conservative voters provided him more flexibility to act.

In the end, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had little impact than the reality that, during his term, the Israeli government was not ready to make peace.

Several months into Trump's second term, with Iran weakened, Hezbollah to its northern border significantly reduced and Gaza in ruins, every one of its major strategy objectives had been accomplished.

Business History Assisted Gain Gulf's Backing

The Israeli missile attack in Doha, which resulted in the death of a local national but not the intended targets, led the president to deliver an final demand to the prime minister. Hostilities had to end.

The US leader had given the Israeli military a significant latitude in the territory. He provided American military might to Israel's campaign in Iran. But an attack on Qatari territory was a separate issue entirely, pushing him towards the stance of Arab nations on how best to end the war.

Several administration figures have told the press that this was a decisive moment which galvanised the leader to exert maximum pressure to get a peace deal done.

This US president's close ties with the Gulf states are well documented. Trump has business dealings with the emirate and the UAE. He began each of his administrations with official trips to the kingdom. Recently, he also visited in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

His Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between Israel and several Muslim states, such as the Emirates, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

His visits devoted in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year contributed to shift his perspective, says Ed Husain of the a policy institute. The US president did not visit the country on this regional tour but went to the UAE, the kingdom and Qatar where the leader heard consistent appeals to bring an end to the conflict.

Less than a month after that attack on the city, the president sat close as Netanyahu himself phoned Qatar to apologise. And later that day, the Israeli leader gave approval on the president's 20-point peace plan for the territory - one that also had the support of key Muslim nations in the area.

If Trump's relationship with his counterpart gave him the ability to pressure the government to reach an agreement, his history with Arab rulers may have ensured their backing, and assisted them convince the group to commit to the arrangement.

"One of the things that evidently occurred was that President Trump gained leverage with the Israeli government, and indirectly with Hamas," says Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"This was crucial. The capacity to do this on his timing, and not succumb to the demands of the warring sides has been a challenge that lot of earlier administrations have struggled with, and he seems to handle relatively successfully."

The fact that the president is much more popular in Israel than the prime minister himself was leverage that he used to his benefit, the expert continues.

Now the Israeli government has committed to freeing more than 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned in its jails and has consented to a limited pullback from Gaza.

The group will free all the remaining hostages, living and dead, taken in the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which caused the loss of over 1,200 Israelis.

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