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Initially, the Israeli air strike on the Hamas delegation in Doha seemed like another intensification that pushed the prospect of peace out of reach.

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

Diplomacy appeared to be in ruins.

However, it turned out to be a key moment that has led in a deal, announced by President Donald Trump, to release all remaining hostages.

That represents a goal that he, and Joe Biden previously, had sought for almost 24 months.

This marks just the first step towards a lasting resolution, and the specifics of Hamas disarmament, Gaza governance and full Israeli withdrawal remain to be worked out.

Yet if this agreement holds, it could be Trump's defining accomplishment of his second term - one that escaped Biden and his administration.

The president's unique style and crucial relationships with the Israeli government and the Arab world seem to have played a role in this breakthrough.

But, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also factors at play beyond the control of both leaders.

A Close Relationship Which Biden Never Had

In public, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

The president likes to say that the nation has no better friend, and Netanyahu has called him as Israel's "most supportive friend in the White House". Moreover these positive statements have been matched by actions.

During his initial time in office, the president relocated the American diplomatic mission in the country from its former location to Jerusalem and abandoned a long-held US position that Jewish communities in the Palestinian West Bank are illegal, the position under global norms.

When Israel began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in June, Trump ordered US bombers to strike the Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

Those visible shows of backing may have allowed the president the leeway to exert more influence on Israel behind the scenes. As per sources, the president's envoy, his representative, pressured Netanyahu in late 2024 into accepting a halt in fighting in return for the freeing of some hostages.

When Israeli forces launched strikes against Syrian forces in the summer, including bombing a place of worship, the US president urged his counterpart to alter tactics.

Trump exhibited a level of determination and insistence on an Israel's leader that is rarely seen, says Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "It's unheard of of an American president literally telling an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

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

The Biden team's "bear hug approach" held that the United States had to embrace Israel openly in order to enable it to moderate the country's military actions in private.

Underneath this was Biden's nearly half-century of backing for the state, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Every step the leader took risked dividing his own political backing, while Trump's loyal conservative voters provided him more flexibility to manoeuvre.

Ultimately, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had little impact than the simple fact that, during Biden's presidency, Israel was unwilling to reach an agreement.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with Iran chastened, Hezbollah to its northern border significantly reduced and the coastal strip in ruins, every one of its major strategy objectives had been achieved.

Business History Assisted Gain Gulf's Backing

The Israeli missile attack in the Qatari capital, which resulted in the death of a Qatari citizen but no Hamas officials, prompted Trump to issue an final demand to the prime minister. The war had to end.

The US leader had given Israel a significant latitude in Gaza. The president provided American military might to Israeli operations in Iran. But an strike on Qatari territory was a different matter entirely, moving him towards the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

A number of Trump officials have informed media outlets that this was a turning point which galvanised the president to apply maximum pressure to finalize an agreement.

This US president's close ties with the Arab monarchies 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. This year, he also visited in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

His Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between the Jewish state and a number of Arab nations, including the Emirates, was the most significant foreign policy success of his first term.

The time he spent 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 visit Israel on this regional tour but visited the UAE, the kingdom and the state where he heard consistent appeals to put a stop to the war.

Less than a month after that Israeli strike on Doha, the president sat nearby as the prime minister personally phoned the Qatari leadership to express regret. And later that day, the Israeli leader gave approval on Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza - one that also had the backing of influential Arab states in the area.

Assuming Trump's relationship with his counterpart gave him the ability to pressure the government to strike a deal, his past with Muslim leaders may have secured their backing, and helped them convince the group to commit to the arrangement.

"One of the things that clearly happened was that President Trump developed influence with the Israelis, and indirectly with the militants," notes Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"That made a difference. The capacity to do this on his own schedule, and avoid yielding to the desires of the combatants has been a problem that lot of earlier administrations have struggled with, and Trump appears to handle with some success."

The reality that the president is far better liked in Israel than the prime minister personally was leverage that Trump used to his benefit, he adds.

Now Israel has agreed to releasing over a thousand Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has agreed to a limited pullback from Gaza.

The group will release all the captives still held, both alive and deceased, captured during the original 7 October assault, which resulted in the loss of over 1,200 Israelis.

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