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At first, the Israeli aerial attack on the Hamas militant delegation in Doha appeared like another intensification that drove the hope of a ceasefire out of reach.

The attack on 9 September breached the territorial integrity of an US partner and risked expanding the hostilities into a region-wide war.

Diplomacy seemed to be in ruins.

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

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

This marks just the first step towards a lasting resolution, and the details of Hamas disarmament, administering Gaza and complete Israeli pullout are still to be negotiated.

Yet if this deal holds, it could be Donald Trump's defining accomplishment of his second term - one that eluded Biden and his diplomatic team.

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

However, as with most foreign policy wins, there were also factors involved beyond the control of either man.

Strong Ties Which Biden Never Had

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

The president often states that the nation has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has called him as Israel's "most supportive friend in the White House". Moreover these warm words have been matched by actions.

During his first presidential term, the president relocated the US embassy in the country from its former location to the contested capital and abandoned a traditional American stance that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are against international law, the view under international law.

When the Israeli military began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in June, Trump ordered US bombers to strike the Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those visible shows of backing may have allowed Trump the leeway to exert more influence on Israel in private. According to reports, Trump's negotiator, his representative, browbeat the prime minister in late 2024 into accepting a halt in fighting in return for the freeing of some hostages.

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

Trump displayed a degree of will and pressure on an Israel's leader that is virtually unprecedented, according to Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an US leader literally telling an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

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

His administration's "bear hug approach" held that the United States had to support Israel openly in order to allow it to influence the nation's military actions behind closed doors.

Underneath this was the president's nearly half-century of support for the state, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Each move the leader took risked dividing his own domestic support, whereas his successor's solid Republican base provided him more flexibility to manoeuvre.

In the end, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had little impact than the reality that, during Biden's presidency, the Israeli government was not ready to make peace.

Several months into Trump's second term, with the Islamic Republic weakened, Hezbollah to its northern border significantly reduced and Gaza devastated, every one of its key military goals had been accomplished.

Business History Helped Gain Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in the Qatari capital, which resulted in the death of a local national but no Hamas officials, led the president to deliver an final demand to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to end.

Trump had given Israel a significant latitude in Gaza. The president lent American military might to Israeli operations in the neighboring country. However an strike on Qatar soil was a different matter completely, pushing him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to end the war.

A number of administration figures have informed media outlets that this was a decisive moment which galvanised the leader to exert full force to finalize an agreement.

The leader's strong connections with the Arab monarchies are widely known. He has commercial interests with the emirate and the United Arab Emirates. He began both his presidential terms with official trips to the kingdom. This year, Trump 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 first term.

His visits he spent in the cities of the Gulf region earlier this year contributed to shift his perspective, says Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. The US president did not visit Israel on this regional tour but visited the UAE, the kingdom and Qatar where he heard consistent appeals to bring an end to the conflict.

Less than a month after that Israeli strike on the city, the president sat close as Netanyahu himself phoned Qatar to apologise. Subsequently, the Israeli leader gave approval on the president's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that also had the backing of key Muslim nations in the area.

Assuming Trump's relationship with his counterpart provided him the room to pressure Israel to strike a deal, his history with Arab rulers may have secured their support, and helped them persuade Hamas to commit to the arrangement.

"A key factor that evidently occurred was that President Trump gained influence with the Israelis, and through intermediaries with the militants," notes Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"This was crucial. His ability to achieve this on his own schedule, and not succumb to the desires of the combatants has been a challenge that lot of earlier administrations have faced, and Trump seems to do with some success."

The reality that Trump is far better liked in Israel than Netanyahu himself was an advantage that Trump employed to his benefit, the expert continues.

Currently the Israeli government has committed to freeing more than 1,000 detainees imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has consented to a partial withdrawal from Gaza.

The group will free all the remaining hostages, living and dead, captured in the original 7 October Hamas attack, which resulted in the loss of more than 1,200 Israeli citizens.

An end to the conflict, which has led to the devastation of the territory and the deaths of more than 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal