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Initially, Israel's air strike on the Hamas delegation in Qatar seemed like yet another intensification that pushed the prospect of a ceasefire further away.

This strike on September 9 breached the sovereignty of an US partner and risked widening the hostilities into a region-wide war.

Negotiations appeared to be in ruins.

Instead, it turned out to be a pivotal event that culminated in a deal, announced by Donald Trump, to free all captives still held.

This is a objective that he, and President Joe Biden previously, had sought for nearly two years.

This marks just the first step towards a lasting resolution, and the specifics of disarming Hamas, administering Gaza and full Israeli withdrawal remain to be negotiated.

Yet if this agreement holds, it could be Donald Trump's defining accomplishment of his second term - one that escaped Joe Biden and his administration.

The president's distinct approach and key alliances with Israel and the Arab world seem to have played a role in this breakthrough.

However, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also elements at play beyond the influence of both leaders.

Strong Ties That Biden Never Had

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

Trump likes to say that Israel has no better friend, and the Israeli leader has called him as Israel's "greatest ever ally in the White House". And these warm words have been backed up by actions.

During his first presidential term, Trump relocated the US embassy in the country from its former location to the contested capital and abandoned a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, the position under international law.

When Israel began its air strikes against the Islamic Republic in June, Trump directed American aircraft to target the Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities with its most powerful conventional bombs.

These visible shows of backing may have given Trump the room to exert more pressure on Israel behind the scenes. According to reports, Trump's envoy, his representative, browbeat Netanyahu in the latter part of the year into accepting a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of a number of captives.

When Israel launched strikes against Syria's military in the summer, even bombing a Christian church, 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 rarely seen, says Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "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 connection with Netanyahu's government was always more tenuous.

The Biden team's "bear hug approach" held that the United States had to embrace Israel publicly in order to allow it to moderate the country's war conduct behind closed doors.

Beneath this was Biden's nearly half-century of backing for Israel, as well as sharp divisions within his political base over the Gaza War. Each move Biden took endangered dividing his own domestic support, whereas Trump's loyal conservative voters provided him more room to manoeuvre.

Ultimately, internal considerations or personal relationships may have had little impact than the reality that, during Biden's presidency, the Israeli government was unwilling to make peace.

Eight months into his new administration, with Iran weakened, the militant group to its northern border significantly reduced and the coastal strip in ruins, every one of its major strategy objectives had been accomplished.

Commercial Background Helped Gain Support from Arab States

The Israeli missile attack in the Qatari capital, which resulted in the death of a Qatari citizen but no Hamas officials, prompted Trump to deliver an ultimatum to Netanyahu. The war had to stop.

Trump had allowed the Israeli military a significant latitude in Gaza. He lent American military might to Israel's campaign in Iran. But an attack on Qatari territory was a separate issue entirely, moving him towards the stance of Arab nations on how best to end the war.

Several Trump officials have told the press that this was a decisive moment which motivated the leader to apply maximum pressure to get a peace deal done.

This US president's close ties with the Arab monarchies are well documented. Trump has commercial interests with Qatar and the UAE. The president began both his presidential terms with official trips to Saudi Arabia. Recently, he also visited in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

His Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between Israel and several Muslim states, including the UAE, was the biggest foreign policy success of his initial presidency.

The time he spent in the cities of the Gulf region earlier this year helped shift his perspective, says Ed Husain of the a policy institute. Trump did not visit the country on this regional tour but visited the UAE, the kingdom and Qatar where he heard consistent appeals to bring an end to the conflict.

Less than a month after that attack on the city, the president sat close as Netanyahu himself phoned Qatar to express regret. And later that day, the prime minister gave approval on Trump's 20-point peace plan for the territory - one that also had the support of influential Arab states in the area.

Assuming the president's alliance with his counterpart gave him the ability to pressure the government to strike a deal, his history with Arab rulers may have ensured their backing, and assisted them persuade Hamas to commit to the deal.

"A key factor that evidently occurred was that the US leader gained leverage with the Israelis, and indirectly with Hamas," notes Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"That made a difference. The capacity to do this on his own schedule, and not succumb to the desires of the combatants has been a challenge that many previous presidents have faced, and Trump seems to handle with some success."

The fact that the president is far better liked in Israel than the prime minister personally was leverage that he used to his benefit, the expert continues.

Currently the Israeli government has committed to freeing over a thousand Palestinians held in its jails and has consented to a limited pullback from Gaza.

The group will release all the captives still held, both alive and deceased, captured in the initial October 7 assault, which caused the loss of more than 1,200 Israeli citizens.

A conclusion to the war, which has resulted in the destruction of Gaza and the fatalities of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal