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At first, the Israeli air strike on the Hamas delegation in Qatar seemed like another intensification that drove the hope of peace further away.

The attack on September 9 violated the sovereignty of an American ally and threatened expanding the hostilities into a region-wide war.

Diplomacy appeared to be in ruins.

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

That represents a objective that Trump, and President Joe Biden previously, had sought for almost 24 months.

This marks just the initial phase towards a more durable peace, and the specifics of Hamas disarmament, administering Gaza and full Israeli withdrawal remain to be negotiated.

But if this deal holds, it could be Donald Trump's defining accomplishment of his return to office - one that escaped Biden and his administration.

Trump's unique style and key alliances with Israel and the Middle Eastern nations appear to have contributed in this success.

However, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also factors involved beyond the influence of either man.

A Close Relationship Which Biden Never Had

In public, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

Trump often states that the nation has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has described him as Israel's "greatest ever ally in the White House". Moreover these warm words have been backed up by deeds.

Throughout his initial time in office, the president relocated the American diplomatic mission in Israel from its former location to Jerusalem and discarded a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are against international law, the view under global norms.

After Israel began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in the summer, the US leader ordered American aircraft to target the Iran's atomic sites with its most powerful conventional bombs.

These public demonstrations of support may have allowed Trump the room to apply more influence on the Israeli government behind the scenes. As per sources, Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, pressured the prime minister in the latter part of the year into agreeing to a halt in fighting in exchange for the release of some hostages.

When Israeli forces attacked against Syria's military in July, even bombing a place of worship, Trump urged Netanyahu to change course.

The leader exhibited a level of will and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is rarely seen, according to an analyst of the a think tank. "There is no example of an American president directly instructing an Israeli prime minister that they must agree or else."

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

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

Beneath this was the president's nearly half-century of backing for the state, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the Gaza War. Every step Biden took endangered fracturing his own political backing, while his successor's loyal conservative voters gave him more flexibility to act.

Ultimately, domestic politics or individual ties may have had less importance than the simple fact that, during his term, Israel was unwilling to make peace.

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

Commercial Background Assisted Secure Gulf's Backing

The Israeli missile attack in the Qatari capital, which killed a Qatari citizen but no Hamas officials, led the president to deliver an final demand to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to stop.

The US leader had allowed the Israeli military a relatively free hand in Gaza. He lent US armed support to Israeli operations in the neighboring country. However an strike on Qatar soil was a different matter completely, pushing him closer to the Arab position on how best to end the war.

Several Trump officials have informed the press that this was a decisive moment which motivated the leader to exert full force to get a peace deal done.

This US president's close ties with the Gulf states are well documented. Trump has business dealings with Qatar and the UAE. He began both his presidential terms with state visits to the kingdom. This year, he also stopped in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

His Abraham Accords, which established ties between the Jewish state and a number of Arab nations, such as the Emirates, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

His visits he spent in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula in recent months contributed to shift his perspective, according to Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. The US president did not visit the country on this regional tour but went to the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom and Qatar where he heard consistent appeals to put a stop to the conflict.

Within weeks after that attack on Doha, the president sat close as Netanyahu personally phoned Qatar to express regret. And later that day, the Israeli leader signed off on the president's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that additionally had the backing of influential Arab states in the region.

If the president's alliance with his counterpart provided him the ability to pressure Israel to reach an agreement, his past with Muslim leaders may have secured their support, and assisted them convince the group to agree to the arrangement.

"A key factor that evidently occurred was that the US leader gained leverage with the Israelis, and through intermediaries with Hamas," says Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"That made a difference. The capacity to do this on his timing, and avoid yielding to the demands of the combatants has been a challenge that lot of previous presidents have faced, and Trump appears to do with some success."

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

Now the Israeli government has committed to releasing more than 1,000 detainees imprisoned in its jails and has agreed to a partial withdrawal from the strip.

The group will free all the remaining hostages, living and dead, taken in the initial October 7 assault, which resulted in the loss of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

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