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Initially, the Israeli air strike on the Hamas militant negotiating team in Qatar appeared like another intensification that pushed the prospect of peace out of reach.

The attack on 9 September breached the sovereignty of an US partner and threatened widening the conflict into a broader regional conflict.

Diplomacy seemed to be in ruins.

However, it proved to be a pivotal event that has led in a agreement, announced by President Donald Trump, to free all remaining hostages.

This is a objective that Trump, and President Joe Biden previously, had pursued for almost 24 months.

This marks just the initial phase towards a more durable peace, and the specifics of Hamas disarmament, administering Gaza and full Israeli withdrawal are still to be worked out.

Yet if this deal holds, it could be Donald Trump's defining accomplishment of his return to office - one that escaped Joe Biden and his administration.

The president's unique style and crucial relationships with the Israeli government and the Arab world appear to have played a role in this breakthrough.

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

A Close Relationship Which Biden Never Had

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

The president often states that the nation has no better friend, and the Israeli leader has described Trump as Israel's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". Moreover these warm words have been matched by deeds.

During his first presidential term, the president relocated the US embassy in Israel from its former location to the contested capital and abandoned a traditional American stance that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank are against international law, the view under global norms.

When Israel began its air strikes against the Islamic Republic in the summer, Trump directed American aircraft to target the Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These visible shows of support may have allowed the president the room to apply more influence on Israel behind the scenes. As per sources, Trump's negotiator, his representative, pressured the prime minister in late 2024 into accepting a temporary ceasefire in return for the release of some hostages.

After Israeli forces launched strikes against Syria's military in July, even bombing a place of worship, the US president urged his counterpart to alter tactics.

The leader exhibited a degree of determination and pressure on an Israel's leader that is rarely seen, according to an analyst of the a think tank. "There is no example of an US leader literally telling an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

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 enable it to moderate the nation's war conduct in private.

Beneath this was the president's nearly half-century of backing for the state, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Every step the leader took risked fracturing his own domestic support, while Trump's loyal conservative voters gave him more flexibility to act.

In the end, internal considerations or personal relationships may have had less importance than the reality that, during his term, Israel was not ready to reach an agreement.

Eight months into his new administration, with Iran weakened, Hezbollah to its northern border significantly reduced and Gaza in ruins, every one of its key military goals had been accomplished.

Business History Helped Secure Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in Doha, which resulted in the death of a Qatari citizen but no Hamas officials, prompted Trump to deliver an ultimatum to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to end.

The US leader had given the Israeli military a relatively free hand in Gaza. The president provided US armed support to Israeli operations in Iran. However an strike on Qatar soil was a different matter entirely, moving him towards the Arab position on how best to end the war.

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

The leader's strong connections with the Gulf states are widely known. He has business dealings with the emirate and the United Arab Emirates. He began each of his administrations with official trips to the kingdom. Recently, Trump also stopped in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The president's Abraham Accords, which established ties between Israel and several Muslim states, including the Emirates, was the most significant foreign policy success of his first term.

The time he spent in the cities of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year helped change his thinking, says an expert of the Council on Foreign Relations. The US president did not visit the country on this Middle East trip but went to the UAE, the kingdom and Qatar where he received consistent appeals to put a stop to the conflict.

Less than a month after that attack on Doha, Trump sat nearby as the prime minister personally called the Qatari leadership to apologise. Subsequently, the Israeli leader gave approval on the president's comprehensive proposal for Gaza - one that also had the backing of influential Arab states in the area.

If the president's alliance with his counterpart gave him the room to pressure the government to reach an agreement, his past with Muslim leaders may have secured their support, and helped them convince the group to agree to the arrangement.

"A key factor that clearly happened was that President Trump gained leverage with the Israelis, and indirectly with Hamas," says Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"That made a difference. His ability to do this on his own schedule, and not succumb to the demands of the combatants has been a challenge that lot of previous presidents 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 an advantage that Trump used to his advantage, the expert continues.

Currently Israel has agreed to releasing more than 1,000 detainees held in Israeli prisons and has consented to a limited pullback from Gaza.

The group will free all the remaining hostages, living and dead, captured during the original 7 October Hamas attack, which resulted in the death of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

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