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At first, the Israeli air strike on the Hamas militant delegation in Qatar appeared like yet another escalation that pushed 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.

Diplomacy appeared to be in ruins.

However, it proved to be a pivotal event that has led in a deal, announced by Donald Trump, to free all captives still held.

This is a goal that he, and Joe Biden previously, had pursued for almost 24 months.

This marks just the initial phase towards a more durable peace, and the details of disarming Hamas, administering Gaza and full Israeli withdrawal are still to be negotiated.

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

Trump's distinct approach and key alliances with the Israeli government and the Middle Eastern nations appear to have contributed in this breakthrough.

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

A Close Relationship That Biden Never Had

In public, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

The president often states that the nation has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has described Trump as the country's "most supportive friend in the White House". Moreover these warm words have been matched by actions.

During his first presidential term, the president relocated the US embassy in the country from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and discarded a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are against international law, the position under international law.

After Israel began its bombing campaign against Iran in the summer, Trump ordered US bombers to strike the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These public demonstrations of support may have given the president the room to exert more pressure on Israel behind the scenes. As per sources, the president's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, browbeat the prime minister in the latter part of the year into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of a number of captives.

After Israel launched strikes against Syria's military in the summer, including hitting a Christian church, Trump pressured his counterpart to change course.

The leader displayed a level of will and insistence on an Israel's leader that is virtually unprecedented, according to Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "It's unheard of 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 Netanyahu's government was consistently more strained.

His administration's "bear hug approach" argued that the US had to embrace Israel publicly in order to allow it to influence the country's military actions in private.

Beneath this was the president's decades-long of backing for Israel, as well as sharp divisions within his Democratic coalition over the conflict in Gaza. Each move Biden took risked dividing his own political backing, whereas Trump's solid Republican base provided him more room to act.

Ultimately, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had less importance than the simple fact that, throughout Biden's presidency, Israel was not ready to make peace.

Eight months into his new administration, with Iran chastened, Hezbollah to its immediate north significantly reduced and the coastal strip devastated, all its key military goals had been achieved.

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 no Hamas officials, led Trump to issue an ultimatum to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to end.

Trump had given the Israeli military a relatively free hand in the territory. The president lent American military might to Israel's campaign in the neighboring country. But an strike on Qatari territory was a different matter completely, pushing him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

A number of Trump officials have told the press that this was a turning point which galvanised the president to exert full force to get a peace deal done.

This US president's strong connections with the Arab monarchies are well documented. Trump has business dealings with Qatar and the UAE. The president began both his presidential terms with state visits to Saudi Arabia. This year, he also stopped in Doha and the UAE capital.

The president's normalization agreements, which established ties between Israel and a number of Arab nations, such as the UAE, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

The time devoted in the capitals of the Gulf region earlier this year contributed to change his thinking, according to Ed Husain of the a policy institute. The US president did not visit the country on this Middle East trip but visited the UAE, the kingdom and Qatar where he heard repeated calls to bring an end to the war.

Within weeks after that Israeli strike on the city, Trump was present nearby as Netanyahu personally phoned the Qatari leadership to apologise. Subsequently, the Israeli leader gave approval on Trump's comprehensive proposal for Gaza - one that additionally had the support of key Muslim nations in the region.

Assuming the president's relationship with his counterpart gave him the room to pressure the government to strike a deal, his history with Muslim leaders may have ensured their backing, and assisted them persuade Hamas to agree to the arrangement.

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

"This was crucial. The capacity 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 Trump appears to handle relatively successfully."

The fact that the president is much more popular in Israel than the prime minister personally was leverage that he used to his benefit, he adds.

Currently Israel has committed to releasing more than 1,000 detainees imprisoned in its jails and has consented to a limited pullback from the strip.

Hamas will release all the captives still held, both alive and deceased, captured during the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which caused the loss of more than 1,200 Israelis.

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