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Initially, Israel's air strike on the Hamas negotiating team in Doha seemed like yet another intensification that pushed the hope of peace further away.

The attack on 9 September breached the territorial integrity of an American ally and threatened widening the hostilities into a broader regional conflict.

Negotiations appeared to be in ruins.

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

This is a objective that he, and Joe Biden previously, had pursued for almost 24 months.

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

But if this deal stands, it could be Donald Trump's signature achievement of his return to office - one that eluded Biden and his administration.

The president's distinct approach and crucial relationships with the Israeli government and the Middle Eastern nations seem to have contributed in this breakthrough.

However, as with many foreign policy wins, there were also elements at play beyond the influence of both leaders.

Strong Ties That Eluded Biden

In public, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

Trump likes to say that Israel has no better friend, and Netanyahu has described Trump as Israel's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". Moreover these warm words have been backed up by deeds.

During his first presidential term, Trump relocated the American diplomatic mission in the country from its former location to Jerusalem and discarded a traditional American stance that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are against international law, the view under international law.

When Israel began its air strikes against Iran in June, the US leader ordered US bombers to target the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

Those public demonstrations of support may have given Trump the room to apply more influence on Israel in private. According to reports, Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, pressured Netanyahu in late 2024 into accepting a temporary ceasefire in return for the freeing of some hostages.

After Israel launched strikes against Syria's military in July, including bombing a place of worship, Trump pressured Netanyahu to alter tactics.

Trump displayed a degree of will and insistence on an Israel's leader that is virtually unprecedented, says 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 connection with Netanyahu's government was consistently more strained.

The Biden team's "bear hug approach" argued that the US had to support the nation openly in order to allow it to moderate the country's war conduct in private.

Underneath this was the president's decades-long of support for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his Democratic coalition over the Gaza War. Each move the leader took risked dividing his own political backing, whereas Trump's loyal conservative voters gave him more room to act.

In the end, domestic politics or individual ties may have had less importance than the reality that, throughout his term, Israel was unwilling to reach an agreement.

Eight months into his new administration, with the Islamic Republic weakened, Hezbollah to its northern border significantly reduced and the coastal strip devastated, every one of its major strategy objectives had been achieved.

Commercial Background Assisted Gain Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in Doha, which killed a local national but no Hamas officials, prompted Trump to deliver an final demand to Netanyahu. The war had to stop.

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 entirely, moving him towards the Arab position on how best to end the war.

Several Trump officials have informed media outlets that this was a turning point which motivated the president to exert full force to get a peace deal done.

This US president's strong connections with the Arab monarchies are well documented. He has commercial interests 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 Doha and Abu Dhabi.

The president's normalization agreements, which normalised relations between the Jewish state and several Muslim states, including the UAE, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his first term.

His visits devoted in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula in recent months helped shift his perspective, says an expert of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not visit Israel on this Middle East trip but visited the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar where the leader heard consistent appeals to bring an end to the conflict.

Within weeks after that Israeli strike on the city, Trump was present nearby as the prime minister personally phoned Qatar to express regret. And later that day, the prime minister gave approval on the president's comprehensive proposal for Gaza - one that also had the backing of key Muslim nations in the region.

Assuming the president's relationship with Netanyahu provided him the room to pressure the government to reach an agreement, his history with Arab rulers may have ensured their backing, and assisted them persuade Hamas to agree to the deal.

"A key factor that clearly happened was that President Trump gained leverage with the Israeli government, and indirectly with Hamas," says an analyst of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"This was crucial. The capacity to do this on his timing, and avoid yielding to the demands of the combatants has been a challenge that many previous presidents have faced, and Trump appears to handle relatively successfully."

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

Currently Israel has committed to freeing more than 1,000 Palestinians held in its jails and has consented to a partial withdrawal from the strip.

Hamas will release all the captives still held, living and dead, captured in the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which resulted in the death of more than 1,200 Israelis.

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