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Initially, the Israeli air strike on the Hamas militant delegation in Doha appeared like yet another escalation that pushed the prospect of a ceasefire out of reach.

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

Negotiations seemed to be collapsing.

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

That represents a objective that Trump, and President Joe Biden previously, had pursued for almost 24 months.

This marks just the first step towards a more durable peace, and the details of disarming Hamas, administering Gaza and complete Israeli pullout are still to be negotiated.

But if this agreement holds, it could be Trump's signature achievement of his return to office - one that eluded Biden and his administration.

Trump's unique style and key alliances with Israel and the Arab world appear to have contributed in this success.

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

Strong Ties Which Eluded Biden

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

Trump likes to say that the nation has no better friend, and the Israeli leader has called him as the country's "greatest ever ally in the US presidency". Moreover these warm words have been matched by actions.

Throughout his first presidential term, Trump moved the US embassy in the country from Tel Aviv to the contested capital and discarded a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the Palestinian West Bank are illegal, the position under global norms.

When Israel began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in the summer, Trump ordered US bombers to strike the Iran's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

Those visible shows of support may have allowed Trump the room to exert more pressure on Israel in private. According to reports, Trump's envoy, his representative, pressured the prime minister in late 2024 into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of some hostages.

After Israeli forces launched strikes against Syrian forces in July, including hitting a place of worship, the US president urged his counterpart to alter tactics.

The leader displayed a level of determination and pressure 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 American president literally telling an Israeli prime minister that you're going to have to comply or else."

Biden's relationship with Netanyahu's government was consistently more tenuous.

His administration's "bear hug strategy" held that the United States had to embrace the nation publicly in order to allow it to influence the nation's military actions in private.

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 risked fracturing his own political backing, while his successor's loyal conservative voters provided him more flexibility to act.

Ultimately, internal considerations or personal relationships may have had little impact than the reality that, during Biden's presidency, Israel was not ready to make peace.

Eight months into his new administration, with Iran chastened, Hezbollah to its northern border greatly diminished and the coastal strip in ruins, all its key military goals had been accomplished.

Commercial Background Assisted Gain Support from Arab States

The Israeli missile attack in Doha, which killed a local national but not the intended targets, led Trump to issue an ultimatum to Netanyahu. The war had to end.

The US leader had allowed Israel a significant latitude in Gaza. The president provided US armed support to Israeli operations in the neighboring country. But an strike on Qatar soil was a different matter entirely, moving him closer to the Arab position on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several administration figures have informed the press that this was a decisive moment which galvanised the president to exert maximum pressure to finalize an agreement.

The leader's close ties with the Gulf states are well documented. He has business dealings with Qatar and the UAE. The president began both his presidential terms with official trips to Saudi Arabia. This year, Trump also visited in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

The president's Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between the Jewish state and several Muslim states, such as the UAE, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

The time he spent in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year contributed to change his thinking, says Ed Husain of the a policy institute. The US president did not travel to the country on this Middle East trip but went to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the state where the leader received consistent appeals to put a stop to the conflict.

Within weeks after that Israeli strike on Doha, the president was present nearby as the prime minister personally phoned Qatar to apologise. Subsequently, the prime minister gave approval on the president's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that also had the support of influential Arab states in the area.

Assuming Trump's relationship with his counterpart gave him the room to influence the government to reach an agreement, his history with Muslim leaders may have secured their backing, and assisted them convince Hamas to commit to the deal.

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

"This was crucial. His ability to achieve this on his timing, and not succumb to the demands of the combatants has been a challenge that many earlier administrations have faced, and he seems to handle relatively successfully."

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

Now Israel has committed to releasing over a thousand detainees held in its jails and has consented to a partial withdrawal from the strip.

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

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