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

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

Negotiations seemed to be collapsing.

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

That represents a goal that he, and Joe Biden previously, had pursued for nearly two years.

It is just the first step towards a lasting resolution, and the details of disarming Hamas, Gaza governance and complete Israeli pullout are still to be negotiated.

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

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

However, as with many foreign policy wins, there were also factors involved beyond the influence of both leaders.

Strong Ties Which Biden Never Had

Publicly, Donald 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 described him as the country's "greatest ever ally in the White House". Moreover these positive statements have been backed up by deeds.

Throughout his first presidential term, the president moved the American diplomatic mission in the country from its former location to the contested capital and abandoned a traditional American stance that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, the view under global norms.

When Israel began its air strikes against Iran in the summer, Trump directed American aircraft to strike the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those visible shows of support may have given the president the room to exert more influence on the Israeli government behind the scenes. As per sources, Trump's envoy, his representative, browbeat Netanyahu in late 2024 into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in return for the release of a number of captives.

After Israeli forces attacked against Syrian forces in the summer, even hitting a place of worship, the US president pressured Netanyahu to alter tactics.

Trump displayed a degree of will and pressure on an Israel's leader that is virtually unprecedented, says an analyst 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 the Israeli administration was always more strained.

The Biden team's "close embrace approach" held that the United States had to support the nation openly in order to allow it to influence the nation's war conduct in private.

Underneath this was Biden's decades-long of support for Israel, as well as sharp divisions within his Democratic coalition over the Gaza War. Each move Biden took endangered fracturing his own domestic support, whereas Trump's loyal conservative voters gave him more room to manoeuvre.

Ultimately, internal considerations or personal relationships may have had little impact than the simple fact that, during his term, the Israeli government was unwilling to make peace.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with Iran weakened, the militant group to its immediate north significantly reduced and Gaza devastated, all its key military goals had been accomplished.

Business History Helped Secure Gulf's Backing

The Israeli missile attack in Doha, which resulted in the death of a Qatari citizen but no Hamas officials, prompted Trump to deliver an ultimatum to the prime minister. Hostilities had to end.

Trump had allowed Israel a significant latitude in the territory. The president lent US armed support to Israel's campaign in the neighboring country. However an attack on Qatari territory was a separate issue entirely, moving him closer to the Arab position 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 exert maximum pressure to finalize an agreement.

This US president's close ties with the Arab monarchies are well documented. He has commercial interests with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He began each of his administrations with official trips to the kingdom. Recently, he also stopped in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

His Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between Israel and a number of Arab nations, such as the Emirates, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his first term.

The time he spent in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula in recent months contributed to change his thinking, according to Ed Husain of the a policy institute. The US president did not travel to the country on this Middle East trip but visited the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom and the state where the leader heard consistent appeals to put a stop to the conflict.

Within weeks after that Israeli strike on Doha, the president sat close as the prime minister personally phoned the Qatari leadership to express regret. And later that day, the prime minister gave approval on Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza - one that also had the backing of key Muslim nations in the region.

Assuming Trump's alliance with Netanyahu gave him the room to influence Israel to reach an agreement, his history with Arab rulers may have secured their backing, and assisted them convince Hamas to agree to the deal.

"A key factor that clearly happened was that the US leader gained leverage with the Israeli government, and indirectly with Hamas," says Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"That made a difference. His ability to do this on his timing, and avoid yielding to the desires of the warring sides has been a problem that many earlier administrations have faced, and Trump appears to do relatively successfully."

The reality that the president is far better liked in Israel than the prime minister himself was an advantage that he employed to his benefit, he adds.

Currently Israel has committed to releasing over a thousand Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has agreed to a partial withdrawal from the strip.

Hamas will free all the remaining hostages, both alive and deceased, captured in the original 7 October Hamas attack, which caused the loss of more than 1,200 Israelis.

An end to the war, which has led to the destruction of the territory and the fatalities of more than 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal