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At first, the Israeli aerial attack on the Hamas militant negotiating team in Doha seemed like yet another escalation that pushed the hope of a ceasefire out of reach.

This strike on 9 September violated the sovereignty of an US partner and threatened expanding the conflict into a region-wide war.

Diplomacy appeared to be in ruins.

However, it proved to be a key moment that has led in a agreement, announced by Donald Trump, to free all captives still held.

That represents a objective that Trump, and Joe Biden previously, had sought for nearly two years.

It is just the first step towards a lasting resolution, and the specifics of Hamas disarmament, administering Gaza and full Israeli withdrawal remain to be worked out.

Yet if this deal stands, it could be Donald Trump's signature achievement of his second term - one that eluded Biden and his administration.

Trump's distinct approach and key alliances with Israel and the Arab world seem to have contributed in this breakthrough.

But, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also factors involved beyond the control of either man.

A Close Relationship Which Eluded Biden

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

Trump likes to say that Israel has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has called Trump as the country's "greatest ever ally in the US presidency". Moreover these positive statements have been backed up by deeds.

During his first presidential term, Trump relocated the US embassy in the country from its former location to Jerusalem and abandoned a traditional American stance that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank are against international law, the view under international law.

When Israel began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in June, the US leader directed American aircraft to strike the nation's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

Those visible shows of backing may have allowed Trump the leeway to apply more influence on the Israeli government in private. As per sources, the president's envoy, Steve Witkoff, pressured Netanyahu in the latter part of the year into accepting a temporary ceasefire in return for the release of some hostages.

After Israel launched strikes against Syria's military in July, including hitting a place of worship, Trump urged Netanyahu to alter tactics.

Trump exhibited a level of will and insistence on an Israel's leader that is virtually unprecedented, according to an analyst of the a think tank. "There is no example of an US leader literally telling an Israeli prime minister that you're going to have to comply or else."

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

His administration's "bear hug approach" argued that the US had to support Israel openly in order to enable it to influence the nation's military actions behind closed doors.

Underneath this was Biden's decades-long of support for Israel, as well as sharp divisions within his Democratic coalition over the conflict in Gaza. Each move the leader took risked dividing his own political backing, while Trump's solid Republican base gave 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 unwilling to make peace.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with Iran weakened, Hezbollah to its immediate north significantly reduced and the coastal strip in ruins, all its key military goals had been accomplished.

Commercial Background Helped Secure Support from Arab States

An Israeli strike in the Qatari capital, which killed a Qatari citizen but no Hamas officials, prompted the president to issue an final demand to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to end.

The US leader had allowed the Israeli military a relatively free hand in Gaza. He lent US armed support to Israel's campaign in Iran. However an attack on Qatari territory was a separate issue entirely, pushing him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several administration figures have informed the press that this was a turning point which motivated the leader to apply full force to get a peace deal done.

The leader's strong connections with the Gulf states are well documented. Trump has commercial interests with Qatar and the UAE. He began each of his administrations with state visits to Saudi Arabia. Recently, Trump also stopped in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

The president's Abraham Accords, which established ties between Israel and several Muslim states, such as the Emirates, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his first term.

His visits devoted in the cities of the Arabian Peninsula in recent months helped shift his perspective, says an expert of the a policy institute. The US president did not visit Israel on this regional tour but went to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the state where the leader heard consistent appeals to bring an end to the conflict.

Less than a month after that attack on Doha, the president sat nearby as the prime minister himself called the Qatari leadership to apologise. Subsequently, the prime minister signed off on the president's 20-point peace plan for Gaza - one that additionally had the support of key Muslim nations in the area.

If Trump's relationship with his counterpart gave him the ability to pressure Israel to strike a deal, his past with Muslim leaders may have ensured their support, and assisted them persuade the group to agree to the deal.

"A key factor that clearly happened was that President Trump gained leverage with the Israeli government, and through intermediaries with Hamas," says an analyst of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"That made a difference. His ability to achieve this on his timing, and not succumb to the demands of the combatants has been a challenge that many previous presidents have faced, and Trump appears to handle relatively successfully."

The reality that the president is much more popular in the nation than the prime minister personally was an advantage that he used to his benefit, the expert continues.

Currently Israel 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 initial October 7 Hamas attack, which resulted in the death of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

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