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Initially, Israel's aerial attack on the Hamas militant negotiating team in Doha seemed like yet another intensification that pushed the hope of a ceasefire further away.

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

Negotiations seemed to be in ruins.

Instead, it turned out to be a key moment that has led in a deal, declared by Donald Trump, to release all captives still held.

This is a objective that Trump, and President Joe Biden previously, had sought for nearly two years.

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

Yet if this deal holds, it could be Trump's signature achievement of his return to office - one that escaped Joe Biden and his administration.

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

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

Strong Ties Which Biden Never Had

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

The president often states that the nation has no greater ally, and the Israeli leader has called Trump as Israel's "greatest ever ally in the White House". Moreover these warm words have been matched by deeds.

Throughout his first presidential term, Trump relocated the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv 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.

When Israel began its air strikes against Iran in the summer, Trump directed US bombers to target the nation's atomic sites with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those public demonstrations of support may have given the president the room to apply more influence on Israel behind the scenes. According to reports, the president's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, pressured the prime minister in late 2024 into accepting a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the freeing of a number of captives.

After Israeli forces attacked against Syria's military in the summer, including hitting a Christian church, the US president pressured Netanyahu to alter tactics.

Trump exhibited a degree of determination and insistence on an Israeli prime minister that is virtually unprecedented, according to Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "It's unheard of of an US leader directly instructing an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

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

His administration's "close embrace approach" held that the United States had to support the nation openly in order to enable it to moderate the nation's military actions in private.

Underneath this was Biden's nearly half-century of backing for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Each move Biden took endangered dividing his own domestic support, whereas his successor's solid Republican base gave him more room to act.

Ultimately, domestic politics or individual ties may have had less importance than the simple fact that, during his term, the Israeli government was not ready to make peace.

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

Commercial Background Assisted Secure Support from Arab States

An Israeli strike in the Qatari capital, which resulted in the death of a Qatari citizen but not the intended targets, prompted Trump to issue an final demand to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to stop.

Trump had allowed Israel a significant latitude in Gaza. He provided US armed support to Israeli operations in the neighboring country. But an strike on Qatari territory was a different matter entirely, pushing him towards the Arab position on how best to conclude the conflict.

A number of administration figures have informed the press that this was a decisive moment which galvanised the president to exert full force to get a peace deal done.

This US president's strong connections with the Arab monarchies are widely known. He has business dealings with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The president began each of his administrations with official trips to Saudi Arabia. Recently, he also visited in Qatar and the UAE capital.

The president's normalization agreements, which established ties between Israel and several Muslim states, such as the UAE, was the biggest foreign policy success of his first term.

His visits devoted in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula in recent months contributed to change his thinking, according to Ed Husain of the a policy institute. The US president did not visit the country on this Middle East trip 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 Doha, Trump was present nearby as the prime minister himself phoned Qatar to express regret. Subsequently, the Israeli leader gave approval on the president's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that additionally had the backing of key Muslim nations in the region.

Assuming the president's alliance with Netanyahu provided him the room to pressure the government to strike a deal, his history with Arab rulers may have ensured their backing, and assisted them persuade Hamas to agree to the arrangement.

"One of the things that clearly happened was that the US leader gained influence with the Israelis, and indirectly with Hamas," says Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"This was crucial. His ability to achieve this on his timing, and avoid yielding to the desires of the combatants has been a problem that many earlier administrations have faced, and he seems to do with some success."

The fact that Trump is far better liked in Israel than the prime minister personally was leverage that Trump used to his benefit, the expert continues.

Now Israel has committed to releasing more than 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned in its jails 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 Hamas attack, which resulted in the loss of over 1,200 Israelis.

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