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

The attack on September 9 breached the territorial integrity of an US partner and risked widening the hostilities into a broader regional conflict.

Negotiations appeared to be in ruins.

Instead, it proved to be a key moment that has led in a agreement, declared by Donald Trump, to release all remaining hostages.

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

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

But if this deal holds, it could be Trump's signature achievement of his second term - one that eluded Joe Biden and his administration.

Trump's unique style and crucial relationships with the Israeli government and the Arab world seem to have contributed in this breakthrough.

But, as with many diplomatic achievements, there were also factors involved beyond the influence of both leaders.

A Close Relationship That Eluded Biden

Publicly, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

Trump likes to say that Israel has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has described him as Israel's "most supportive friend in the White House". Moreover these positive statements have been matched by deeds.

Throughout his initial time in office, Trump moved the American diplomatic mission in Israel from Tel Aviv to the contested capital and abandoned a traditional American stance that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, the position under global norms.

After the Israeli military began its air strikes against the Islamic Republic in June, the US leader directed American aircraft to target the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These visible shows of backing may have allowed Trump the leeway to apply more influence on Israel behind the scenes. According to reports, Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, pressured Netanyahu in late 2024 into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in return for the release of some hostages.

When Israel launched strikes against Syrian forces in the summer, even bombing a Christian church, the US president pressured his counterpart to change course.

Trump displayed a level of determination and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is virtually unprecedented, according to an analyst of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "It's unheard of 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.

His administration's "bear hug approach" argued that the US had to embrace the nation publicly in order to enable it to moderate 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 the leader took risked fracturing his own political backing, whereas Trump's loyal conservative voters gave him more flexibility to manoeuvre.

Ultimately, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had less importance than the reality that, during his term, the Israeli government was not ready to reach an agreement.

Eight months into his new administration, with the Islamic Republic weakened, the militant group to its immediate north significantly reduced and the coastal strip devastated, all its key military goals had been achieved.

Business History Assisted Gain Support from Arab States

An Israeli strike in the Qatari capital, which resulted in the death of a local national but no Hamas officials, prompted the president to deliver an ultimatum to Netanyahu. The war had to stop.

Trump had given the Israeli military a relatively free hand in the territory. He lent American military might to Israeli operations in the neighboring country. But an strike on Qatari territory was a different matter completely, moving him towards the Arab position on how best to end the war.

Several Trump officials have told media outlets that this was a turning point which motivated the president to apply maximum pressure to finalize an agreement.

This US president's strong connections with the Arab monarchies are widely known. Trump has business dealings with Qatar and the UAE. The president began each of his administrations with state visits to Saudi Arabia. Recently, Trump also visited in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

His normalization agreements, which normalised relations between Israel and a number of Arab nations, including the Emirates, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

His visits he spent in the cities of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year helped change his thinking, according to Ed Husain of the a policy institute. The US president did not visit Israel on this Middle East trip but went to the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom and the state where he received repeated calls to bring an end to the war.

Less than a month after that attack on Doha, Trump was present nearby as Netanyahu personally called Qatar to express regret. Subsequently, the Israeli leader signed off on Trump's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that also had the support of influential Arab states in the region.

Assuming the president's alliance with his counterpart provided him the room to influence the government to strike a deal, his past with Muslim leaders may have ensured their backing, and assisted them persuade the group to agree to the deal.

"One of the things that evidently occurred was that the US leader developed leverage with the Israeli government, and through intermediaries with Hamas," notes Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"That made a difference. His ability to do this on his own schedule, and not succumb to the demands of the warring sides has been a challenge that many earlier administrations have faced, and Trump seems to handle with some success."

The fact that Trump is much more popular in the nation than the prime minister personally was an advantage that he employed to his benefit, the expert continues.

Currently Israel has committed to releasing over a thousand Palestinians imprisoned in its jails and has consented to a limited pullback from Gaza.

The group will release all the captives still held, living and dead, taken during the initial October 7 assault, which caused the loss of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

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