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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.

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

Diplomacy seemed to be collapsing.

However, it proved to be a pivotal event that culminated in a agreement, declared by Donald Trump, to release all captives still held.

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

It is just the first step towards a more durable peace, and the specifics of disarming Hamas, Gaza governance and complete Israeli pullout remain to be negotiated.

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

Trump's distinct approach and crucial relationships with Israel and the Middle Eastern nations seem to have contributed in this success.

But, as with many foreign policy wins, there were also factors at play beyond the influence of either man.

Strong Ties Which Eluded Biden

In public, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

The president often states that Israel has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has called Trump as the country's "greatest ever ally in the White House". Moreover these positive statements have been matched by actions.

During his first presidential term, the president moved the American diplomatic mission in the country from Tel Aviv to the contested capital and discarded a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are illegal, the view under international law.

After the Israeli military began its bombing campaign against Iran in the summer, Trump directed US bombers to strike the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those public demonstrations of support may have given Trump the room to exert more influence on the Israeli government behind the scenes. According to reports, the president's envoy, Steve Witkoff, browbeat Netanyahu in the latter part of the year into accepting a temporary ceasefire in return for the freeing of some hostages.

When Israel launched strikes against Syria's military in July, even hitting a Christian church, Trump urged Netanyahu to change course.

Trump exhibited a level of will and insistence on an Israel's leader that is rarely seen, according to an analyst of the a think tank. "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 relationship with the Israeli administration was always more strained.

His administration's "bear hug strategy" argued that the US had to embrace the nation openly in order to enable it to moderate the country's war conduct in private.

Beneath this was Biden's decades-long of backing for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his Democratic coalition over the conflict in Gaza. Each move the leader took endangered dividing his own domestic support, while Trump's solid Republican base gave him more room to act.

Ultimately, internal considerations or personal relationships may have had less importance than the simple fact that, during Biden's presidency, Israel was unwilling to make peace.

Eight months into his new administration, with Iran weakened, Hezbollah to its northern border greatly diminished and Gaza in ruins, 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 local national but no Hamas officials, prompted Trump to deliver an final demand to the prime minister. The war had to end.

The US leader had allowed Israel a significant latitude in Gaza. The president provided US armed support to Israeli operations in Iran. But an attack on Qatari territory was a different matter entirely, pushing him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to end the war.

Several administration figures have informed the press that this was a decisive moment which motivated the leader to exert full force to finalize an agreement.

The leader's strong connections with the Arab monarchies are well documented. He has business dealings with the emirate and the United Arab Emirates. He began each of his administrations with official trips to Saudi Arabia. Recently, he also stopped in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

His normalization agreements, which established ties between Israel and a number of Arab nations, including the UAE, was the most significant foreign policy success of his initial presidency.

The time devoted in the capitals of the Gulf region earlier this year contributed to change his thinking, says Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. The US president did not visit Israel on this Middle East trip but went to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar where the leader received repeated calls to bring an end to the war.

Within weeks after that attack on Doha, the president sat close as the prime minister personally phoned the Qatari leadership to express regret. And later that day, the prime minister signed off on the president's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that additionally had the backing of key Muslim nations in the area.

Assuming the president's relationship with Netanyahu provided him the room to pressure the government to strike a deal, his history with Muslim leaders may have secured their backing, and assisted them convince the group to agree to the arrangement.

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

"That made a difference. The capacity to achieve this on his own schedule, and avoid yielding to the demands of the combatants has been a challenge that many earlier administrations have struggled with, and he seems to do relatively successfully."

The fact that Trump is far better liked in the nation than Netanyahu personally was an advantage that he used to his benefit, the expert continues.

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

Hamas will free all the remaining hostages, living and dead, captured during the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which caused the loss of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

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