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Initially, the Israeli aerial attack on the Hamas militant delegation in Qatar seemed like another intensification that pushed the prospect of a ceasefire further away.

This strike on 9 September breached the sovereignty of an US partner and threatened widening 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 agreement, announced by President Donald Trump, to free 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 lasting resolution, and the details of disarming Hamas, Gaza governance and complete Israeli pullout are still to be worked out.

But if this deal holds, it could be Trump's signature achievement of his second term - one that escaped Joe Biden and his diplomatic team.

Trump's distinct approach and crucial relationships with the Israeli government and the Middle Eastern nations appear to have played a role in this success.

But, as with most foreign policy wins, there were also elements involved beyond the control of both leaders.

A Close Relationship Which Eluded Biden

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

The president likes to say that Israel has no greater ally, and the Israeli leader has called Trump as Israel's "greatest ever ally in the US presidency". And these warm words have been backed up by deeds.

Throughout his first presidential term, Trump relocated the US embassy in Israel from its former location to the contested capital and discarded a traditional American stance that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, the position under global norms.

After the Israeli military began its bombing campaign against Iran in June, Trump ordered US bombers to target the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These public demonstrations of backing may have given Trump the room to apply more pressure on the Israeli government behind the scenes. As per sources, Trump's envoy, his representative, browbeat Netanyahu in the latter part of the year into accepting a halt in fighting in return for the release of some hostages.

When Israel launched strikes against Syria's military in July, including bombing a place of worship, Trump pressured Netanyahu to alter tactics.

Trump displayed a degree of will and insistence on an Israel's leader that is rarely seen, according to Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an US leader directly instructing an Israeli prime minister that you're going to have to comply or else."

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

His administration's "close embrace approach" argued that the United States had to embrace the nation publicly in order to allow it to moderate the nation's war conduct behind closed doors.

Beneath this was the president's nearly half-century of support for Israel, as well as sharp divisions within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Every step the leader took endangered dividing his own domestic support, while Trump's solid Republican base provided him more room to act.

In the end, internal considerations or personal relationships may have had little impact than the reality that, during his term, Israel was not ready to make peace.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with the Islamic Republic chastened, Hezbollah to its immediate north greatly diminished and Gaza devastated, all its major strategy objectives had been accomplished.

Commercial Background Helped Gain Gulf's Backing

The Israeli missile attack in Doha, which resulted in the death of a local national but no Hamas officials, prompted Trump to deliver an ultimatum to the prime minister. Hostilities had to stop.

The US leader had allowed Israel a significant latitude in the territory. The president lent American military might to Israeli operations in the neighboring country. However an strike on Qatari territory was a different matter completely, moving him towards the stance of Arab nations on how best to end the war.

Several Trump officials have informed media outlets that this was a turning point which motivated the leader to exert maximum pressure to get a peace deal done.

The leader's strong connections with the Gulf states are well documented. Trump has business dealings with the emirate and the United Arab Emirates. The president began each of his administrations with official trips to Saudi Arabia. This year, Trump also stopped in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

His normalization agreements, which established ties between the Jewish state and a number of Arab nations, including the Emirates, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

The time he spent in the capitals of the Gulf region in recent months contributed to shift his perspective, 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 the leader heard consistent appeals to put a stop to the conflict.

Less than a month after that attack on Doha, the president sat close as Netanyahu himself phoned Qatar to express regret. Subsequently, the prime minister signed off on Trump's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that additionally had the support of key Muslim nations in the area.

Assuming Trump's relationship with his counterpart gave him the room to influence Israel to reach an agreement, his history with Muslim leaders may have ensured their backing, and helped them convince Hamas to agree to the arrangement.

"One of the things that clearly happened was that the US leader developed influence with the Israeli government, 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 demands of the warring sides has been a challenge that many previous presidents have faced, and he appears to handle with some success."

The fact that Trump is far better liked in the nation than the prime minister himself was an advantage that Trump used to his benefit, he adds.

Now the Israeli government has committed to freeing more than 1,000 detainees imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has agreed to a limited pullback from the strip.

The group will release all the remaining hostages, both alive and deceased, taken during the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which resulted in the death of more than 1,200 Israelis.

An end to the conflict, which has resulted in the destruction of the territory and the deaths of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal