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Initially, the Israeli air strike on the Hamas militant delegation in Doha seemed like another intensification that pushed the hope of peace further away.

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

Negotiations seemed to be in ruins.

Instead, it turned out to be a pivotal event that has led in a agreement, declared by Donald Trump, to release all remaining hostages.

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

This marks just the first step towards a lasting resolution, and the details of Hamas disarmament, administering Gaza and complete Israeli pullout remain to be worked out.

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

The president's unique style and key alliances with Israel and the Middle Eastern nations appear to have contributed in this success.

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

Strong Ties Which Eluded Biden

In public, Donald 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 "most supportive friend in the US presidency". Moreover these positive statements have been backed up by actions.

Throughout his first presidential term, the president moved the American diplomatic mission in the country from its former location to Jerusalem and discarded a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are against international law, the view under international law.

After Israel began its air strikes against the Islamic Republic in June, the US leader ordered American aircraft to strike the nation's atomic sites with its most powerful conventional bombs.

These visible shows of backing may have allowed Trump the room to apply more influence on Israel behind the scenes. As per sources, Trump's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, browbeat Netanyahu in the latter part of the year into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the freeing of some hostages.

After Israel launched strikes against Syrian forces in July, even bombing a place of worship, the US president urged Netanyahu to alter tactics.

Trump exhibited a level of determination and insistence on an Israel's leader that is virtually unprecedented, according to an analyst 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."

Joe Biden's relationship with the Israeli administration was always more tenuous.

The Biden team's "bear hug approach" held that the US had to support Israel openly in order to enable it to moderate the country's war conduct behind closed doors.

Underneath this was the president's nearly half-century of support for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Each move Biden took endangered fracturing his own domestic support, while Trump's solid Republican base gave him more room to manoeuvre.

Ultimately, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had less importance than the reality that, throughout Biden's presidency, the Israeli government was not ready to reach an agreement.

Eight months into his new administration, with the Islamic Republic weakened, Hezbollah to its immediate north greatly diminished and the coastal strip devastated, all its key military goals had been accomplished.

Business History Assisted Gain Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in the Qatari capital, which resulted in the death of a Qatari citizen but not the intended targets, prompted Trump to issue an ultimatum to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to stop.

The US leader had allowed Israel a relatively free hand in the territory. He provided American military might to Israel's campaign in Iran. However an strike on Qatar soil was a separate issue entirely, moving him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several Trump officials have informed media outlets that this was a decisive moment which motivated the president to apply maximum pressure to get a peace deal done.

This US president's strong connections with the Gulf states are well documented. He has commercial interests with the emirate and the UAE. He began both his presidential terms with official trips to the kingdom. This year, Trump also visited in Qatar and the UAE capital.

The president's Abraham Accords, which established ties between the Jewish state and a number of Arab nations, such as the Emirates, was the biggest foreign policy success of his first term.

The time he spent in the capitals of the Gulf region earlier this year contributed to shift his perspective, says an expert of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not visit Israel on this Middle East trip but visited the UAE, the kingdom and Qatar where he heard consistent appeals to put a stop to the war.

Within weeks after that Israeli strike on the city, Trump was present nearby as the prime minister himself phoned Qatar to express regret. And later that day, the Israeli leader signed off on Trump's comprehensive proposal for Gaza - one that also had the backing of influential Arab states in the area.

Assuming Trump's alliance with his counterpart provided him the ability to influence Israel to reach an agreement, his past with Muslim leaders may have ensured their backing, and assisted them persuade the group to agree to the arrangement.

"One of the things that clearly happened was that President Trump gained leverage with the Israeli government, and indirectly with the militants," says an analyst of the a research center.

"This was crucial. The capacity to achieve this on his timing, and not succumb to the desires of the warring sides has been a problem that many earlier administrations have faced, and he seems to handle with some success."

The fact that Trump is far better liked in Israel than the prime minister himself was an advantage that Trump employed to his advantage, the expert continues.

Currently the Israeli government has committed to releasing over a thousand Palestinians imprisoned in its jails and has agreed to a partial withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas will release all the remaining hostages, living and dead, captured during the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which resulted in the loss of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

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