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Initially, Israel's aerial attack on the Hamas negotiating team in Qatar appeared like yet another intensification that drove the prospect of peace further away.

This strike on September 9 violated the sovereignty of an US partner and risked expanding the conflict into a broader regional conflict.

Diplomacy seemed to be collapsing.

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

This is a goal that Trump, and President Joe Biden before him, had pursued for nearly two years.

This marks just the first step towards a lasting resolution, and the specifics of disarming Hamas, administering Gaza and complete Israeli pullout remain to be negotiated.

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

The president's distinct approach and key alliances with the Israeli government 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 both leaders.

Strong Ties That Biden Never Had

Publicly, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

Trump often states that the nation has no better friend, and Netanyahu has described him as the country's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". And these warm words have been backed up by deeds.

Throughout his first presidential term, the president moved the American diplomatic mission in the country from Tel Aviv to the contested capital and abandoned a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are against international law, the position under global norms.

When the Israeli military began its air strikes 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 support may have allowed the president the room to exert more pressure on the Israeli government in private. According to reports, the president's negotiator, his representative, browbeat Netanyahu in the latter part of the year into accepting a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of some hostages.

After Israeli forces launched strikes against Syrian forces in July, even bombing a place of worship, the US president pressured Netanyahu to alter tactics.

The leader displayed a degree of determination and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is rarely seen, says an analyst of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an American president directly instructing an Israeli prime minister that you're going to have to comply or else."

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

The Biden team's "bear hug strategy" held that the United States had to support Israel openly in order to enable it to moderate the country's military actions in private.

Beneath this was Biden's decades-long of backing for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his Democratic coalition over the conflict in Gaza. Every step the leader took endangered fracturing his own political backing, while his successor's solid Republican base provided him more flexibility to manoeuvre.

In the end, internal considerations or individual ties may have had less importance than the reality that, during Biden's presidency, the Israeli government was not ready to reach an agreement.

Several months into Trump's second term, with Iran chastened, Hezbollah to its northern border significantly reduced and Gaza devastated, every one of its key military goals had been achieved.

Commercial Background Assisted Secure Gulf's Backing

The Israeli missile attack in Doha, which resulted in the death of a local national but no Hamas officials, led the president to deliver an final demand to the prime minister. Hostilities had to end.

Trump had allowed Israel a significant latitude in the territory. He provided American military might to Israel's campaign in Iran. However an strike on Qatari territory was a separate issue completely, moving him closer to the Arab position on how best to conclude the conflict.

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

This US president's close ties with the Gulf states are widely known. He has business dealings with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The president began both his presidential terms with state visits to the kingdom. Recently, he also stopped in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

The president's Abraham Accords, which established ties between the Jewish state and several Muslim states, including the Emirates, was the most significant foreign policy success of his first term.

The time he spent in the cities of the Gulf region in recent months helped change his thinking, says an expert of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not visit Israel on this regional tour but visited the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the state where he received repeated calls to bring an end to the conflict.

Less than a month after that Israeli strike on the city, Trump sat close as the prime minister personally called Qatar to express regret. Subsequently, the prime minister gave approval on Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza - one that also had the support of key Muslim nations in the region.

Assuming Trump's alliance with his counterpart gave him the room to pressure Israel to strike a deal, his history with Muslim leaders may have ensured their support, and assisted them persuade the group to commit to the deal.

"A key factor that clearly happened was that President Trump gained leverage with the Israelis, and indirectly with Hamas," notes Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"This was crucial. His ability to do this on his own schedule, and avoid yielding to the desires of the warring sides has been a problem that lot of earlier administrations have faced, and he seems to do relatively successfully."

The fact that the president is far better liked in Israel than Netanyahu personally was leverage that he used to his advantage, the expert continues.

Now the Israeli government has committed to releasing more than 1,000 Palestinians held in its jails and has agreed to a limited pullback from the strip.

Hamas will release all the captives still held, living and dead, taken during the initial October 7 assault, which resulted in the loss of more than 1,200 Israelis.

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