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At first, Israel's aerial attack on the Hamas militant delegation in Qatar seemed like yet another escalation that drove the prospect of a ceasefire further away.

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

Negotiations seemed to be in ruins.

Instead, it turned out to be a pivotal event that has led in a agreement, announced by President Donald Trump, to free all remaining hostages.

This is a objective that Trump, and President Joe Biden before him, had sought for almost 24 months.

This marks just the initial phase towards a more durable peace, and the specifics of disarming Hamas, Gaza governance and complete Israeli pullout remain to be negotiated.

Yet if this agreement stands, it could be Donald Trump's defining accomplishment of his return to office - one that eluded Biden and his administration.

Trump's unique style and crucial relationships with the Israeli government 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 either man.

Strong Ties That Biden Never Had

Publicly, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

The president often states that the nation has no better friend, and Netanyahu has called Trump as Israel's "most supportive friend in the White House". And these warm words have been matched by actions.

Throughout his first presidential term, the president relocated the US embassy in the country from its former location to Jerusalem and discarded a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are against international law, the position under international law.

After the Israeli military began its bombing campaign against Iran in the summer, the US leader directed American aircraft to strike the Iran's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These visible shows of support may have allowed Trump the room to apply more influence on the Israeli government behind the scenes. As per sources, the president's envoy, his representative, browbeat the prime minister in the latter part of the year into agreeing to a halt in fighting in exchange for the freeing of some hostages.

After Israeli forces attacked against Syria's military in July, including bombing a place of worship, the US president urged his counterpart to change course.

Trump displayed a degree of determination and insistence on an Israeli prime minister that is virtually unprecedented, according to an analyst of the a think tank. "There is no example of an US leader directly instructing an Israeli prime minister that they must agree or else."

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

The Biden team's "bear hug approach" argued that the US had to support Israel publicly in order to enable it to influence the country's military actions behind closed doors.

Underneath this was Biden's decades-long of backing for Israel, as well as sharp divisions within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Each move the leader took endangered dividing his own political backing, while Trump's loyal conservative voters provided him more flexibility 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 Trump's second term, with the Islamic Republic chastened, Hezbollah to its northern border greatly diminished and the coastal strip in ruins, all its key military goals had been accomplished.

Business History Helped Secure Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in the Qatari capital, which killed a local national but not the intended targets, prompted the president to issue an ultimatum to Netanyahu. The war had to stop.

Trump had given Israel a significant latitude in Gaza. The president provided American military might to Israeli operations in the neighboring country. However an strike on Qatari territory was a different matter entirely, 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 galvanised the leader to apply full force to get a peace deal done.

The leader's close ties with the Gulf states are widely known. He has business dealings with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He began both his presidential terms with official trips to the kingdom. This year, he also visited in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The president's normalization agreements, which normalised relations between the Jewish state and a number of Arab nations, including the Emirates, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his first term.

His visits devoted in the capitals of the Gulf region in recent months helped change his thinking, says Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not travel to the country on this Middle East trip but went to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the state where the leader received repeated calls to put a stop to the war.

Less than a month after that attack on the city, Trump was present nearby as Netanyahu personally phoned Qatar to express regret. And later that day, the Israeli leader signed off on Trump's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that additionally had the support of influential Arab states in the area.

If the president's alliance 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 commit to the arrangement.

"A key factor that evidently occurred was that the US leader developed influence with the Israeli government, and indirectly with Hamas," says an analyst of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"That made a difference. The capacity to do this on his timing, and avoid yielding to the demands of the warring sides has been a problem that many previous presidents have faced, and Trump appears to handle relatively successfully."

The reality that the president is far better liked in the nation than the prime minister personally was an advantage that Trump employed to his advantage, the expert continues.

Now the Israeli government has committed to releasing over a thousand Palestinians held in its jails and has consented to a partial withdrawal from the strip.

The group will release all the captives still held, living and dead, taken during the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which caused the death of over 1,200 Israelis.

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