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Initially, Israel's air strike on the Hamas delegation in Qatar seemed like yet another intensification that pushed the prospect of peace out of reach.

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

Diplomacy appeared to be in ruins.

Instead, it proved to be a key moment that culminated in a deal, announced by President Donald Trump, to release all remaining hostages.

That represents a objective that Trump, 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 disarming Hamas, administering Gaza and full Israeli withdrawal are still to be negotiated.

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

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

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

Strong Ties That Eluded Biden

Publicly, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

The president likes to say that Israel has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has described him as Israel's "greatest ever ally in the US presidency". Moreover these warm words have been backed up by deeds.

During his initial time in office, Trump moved the American diplomatic mission in Israel from its former location to the contested capital and discarded a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, the position under international law.

After Israel began its air strikes against the Islamic Republic in the summer, Trump directed American aircraft to target the Iran's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These public demonstrations of support may have allowed the president the room to exert more influence on the Israeli government in private. As per sources, Trump's envoy, his representative, pressured Netanyahu in late 2024 into accepting a halt in fighting in return for the freeing of a number of captives.

When Israeli forces launched strikes against Syrian forces in the summer, even hitting a place of worship, the US president urged Netanyahu to change course.

The leader exhibited a degree of determination and insistence 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 leader that you're going to have to comply or else."

Biden's relationship with Netanyahu's government was always more strained.

The Biden team's "close embrace approach" argued that the United States had to support the nation publicly in order to enable it to influence the nation's military actions in private.

Beneath this was Biden's decades-long of support for the state, as well as sharp divisions within his Democratic coalition over the conflict in Gaza. Every step Biden took endangered dividing his own domestic support, while Trump's solid Republican base provided him more room to act.

Ultimately, internal considerations or personal relationships may have had less importance than the simple fact that, throughout his term, Israel was unwilling to reach an agreement.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with the Islamic Republic chastened, the militant group to its immediate north greatly diminished and Gaza in ruins, every one of its major strategy objectives had been accomplished.

Business History Helped Secure Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in the Qatari capital, which killed a local national but no Hamas officials, led the president to issue an ultimatum to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to stop.

The US leader had given Israel a significant latitude in the territory. He lent US armed support to Israeli operations in the neighboring country. But an strike on Qatar soil was a separate issue completely, pushing him towards the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several Trump officials have told media outlets that this was a decisive moment which motivated the leader to apply maximum pressure to get a peace deal done.

The leader's strong connections with the Gulf states are widely known. He has commercial interests with Qatar and the UAE. The president began each of his administrations with state visits to the kingdom. This year, he also stopped in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

The president's Abraham Accords, which established ties between Israel and several Muslim states, such as the Emirates, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his first term.

The time devoted in the capitals of the Gulf region earlier this year contributed to shift his perspective, according to Ed Husain of the a policy institute. The US president did not travel to the country on this regional tour but visited the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar where he 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 Israeli leader signed off on Trump's comprehensive proposal for Gaza - one that additionally had the backing of influential Arab states in the region.

If the president's relationship with his counterpart gave him the room to pressure Israel to reach an agreement, his past with Muslim leaders may have ensured their backing, and helped them persuade Hamas to agree to the arrangement.

"A key factor 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.

"This was crucial. The capacity to do this on his own schedule, and not succumb to the desires of the warring sides has been a challenge that many earlier administrations have faced, and he seems to handle relatively successfully."

The fact that Trump is far better liked in Israel than the prime minister himself was an advantage that he employed to his advantage, the expert continues.

Now Israel has committed to freeing over a thousand Palestinians imprisoned in its jails and has agreed to a limited pullback from Gaza.

Hamas will release all the remaining hostages, both alive and deceased, taken in the original 7 October Hamas attack, which resulted in the death of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

A conclusion to the conflict, which has led to the destruction of Gaza and the deaths of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal