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Initially, the Israeli aerial attack on the Hamas militant delegation in Doha appeared like yet another escalation that drove the hope of peace out of reach.

This strike on September 9 violated the sovereignty of an American ally and risked expanding the hostilities into a broader regional conflict.

Negotiations appeared to be collapsing.

Instead, it proved to be a key moment that culminated in a agreement, declared by Donald Trump, to release all captives still held.

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

It is just the initial phase towards a lasting resolution, and the details of disarming Hamas, administering Gaza and complete Israeli pullout remain to be negotiated.

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

Trump's unique style and crucial relationships with Israel and the Middle Eastern nations seem to have contributed in this success.

But, as with many foreign policy wins, there were also elements at play beyond the control of both leaders.

A Close Relationship Which Eluded Biden

Publicly, Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

The president likes to say that the nation has no better friend, and Netanyahu has called Trump as Israel's "most supportive friend in the White House". And these positive statements have been backed up by deeds.

Throughout his initial time in office, the president moved the American diplomatic mission in the country from its former location to Jerusalem and discarded a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the Palestinian West Bank are against international law, the position under international law.

After Israel began its air strikes against Iran in the summer, the US leader directed US bombers to target the Iran's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

Those public demonstrations of support may have allowed Trump the leeway to exert more influence on Israel in private. According to reports, the president's envoy, his representative, pressured the prime minister in the latter part of the year into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in return for the freeing of some hostages.

After Israel attacked against Syrian forces in July, including hitting a Christian church, Trump urged Netanyahu to change course.

The leader exhibited a level of will and insistence on an Israel's leader that is virtually unprecedented, says an analyst of the a think tank. "There is no example of an American president directly instructing an Israeli leader that you're going to have to comply or else."

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

The Biden team's "bear hug strategy" held that the US had to embrace Israel openly in order to allow it to influence the country's war conduct behind closed doors.

Beneath this was the president's decades-long of backing for the state, as well as sharp divisions within his political base over the Gaza War. Every step the leader took risked dividing his own political backing, whereas his successor's loyal conservative voters provided him more flexibility to act.

In the end, domestic politics or individual ties may have had little impact than the reality that, throughout Biden's presidency, the Israeli government was not ready to reach an agreement.

Several 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.

Business History Helped Gain Support from Arab States

The Israeli missile attack in the Qatari capital, which resulted in the death of a local national but not the intended targets, led the president to deliver an ultimatum to Netanyahu. The war had to end.

The US leader had given Israel a significant latitude in Gaza. He lent American military might to Israel's campaign in the neighboring country. But an attack on Qatar soil was a different matter completely, moving him closer to the stance of Arab nations 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 leader to apply maximum pressure to get a peace deal done.

The leader's strong connections with the Gulf states are widely known. Trump has commercial interests with the emirate and the UAE. The president began both his presidential terms with official trips to the kingdom. Recently, Trump also stopped in Doha and the UAE capital.

His normalization agreements, which normalised relations between Israel and a number of Arab nations, including the Emirates, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his first term.

His visits he spent in the capitals of the Gulf region in recent months helped change his thinking, according to Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. The US president did not travel to Israel on this regional tour but went to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the state where the leader heard consistent appeals to bring an end to the war.

Within weeks after that Israeli strike on Doha, the president was present nearby as the prime minister personally phoned Qatar to express regret. Subsequently, the Israeli leader signed off on Trump's comprehensive proposal for Gaza - one that also had the support of key Muslim nations in the region.

If the president's relationship with his counterpart provided him the ability to influence Israel to strike a deal, his history with Arab rulers may have secured their backing, and assisted them persuade the group to agree to the arrangement.

"One of the things that evidently occurred was that the US leader developed influence with the Israeli government, and through intermediaries with Hamas," says an analyst of the a research center.

"That made a difference. His ability to achieve this on his own schedule, and not succumb to the demands of the combatants has been a challenge that many earlier administrations have faced, and he appears to handle relatively successfully."

The reality that the president is much more popular in the nation than Netanyahu personally was an advantage that he used to his advantage, he adds.

Now the Israeli government has committed to freeing more than 1,000 detainees held in its jails and has consented to a partial withdrawal from Gaza.

The group will free all the remaining hostages, living and dead, taken during the initial October 7 assault, which caused the loss of over 1,200 Israelis.

An end to the war, which has resulted in the devastation of the territory and the fatalities of more than 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal