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At first, the Israeli aerial attack on the Hamas militant negotiating team in Qatar seemed like yet another intensification that drove the hope of a ceasefire out of reach.

This strike on 9 September violated the sovereignty of an US partner and risked expanding the conflict into a broader regional conflict.

Negotiations appeared to be collapsing.

Instead, it proved to be a pivotal event that culminated in a agreement, announced by President Donald Trump, to release all remaining hostages.

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

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

But if this agreement stands, it could be 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 Israel and the Middle Eastern nations appear to have played a role in this breakthrough.

But, as with most foreign policy wins, there were also factors involved beyond the influence of either man.

Strong Ties Which Biden Never Had

Publicly, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

Trump often states that the nation has no greater ally, and the Israeli leader has described Trump as Israel's "greatest ever ally in the US presidency". And these warm words have been matched by actions.

Throughout his initial time in office, the president moved the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and abandoned a long-held US position that Jewish communities in the Palestinian West Bank are against international law, the position under global norms.

When the Israeli military began its air strikes against the Islamic Republic in June, Trump ordered US bombers to target the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those public demonstrations of backing may have allowed the president the room to apply more pressure on Israel behind the scenes. According to reports, Trump's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, pressured Netanyahu in late 2024 into agreeing to a halt in fighting in return for the release of a number of captives.

After Israeli forces launched strikes against Syria's military in July, even hitting a place of worship, Trump urged Netanyahu to alter tactics.

Trump displayed a degree of determination and insistence on an Israeli prime minister that is virtually unprecedented, according to an analyst of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an US leader literally telling an Israeli prime minister that they must agree or else."

Joe Biden's connection with the Israeli administration was consistently more strained.

The Biden team's "bear hug approach" held that the United States had to embrace Israel publicly in order to allow it to influence the nation's military actions in private.

Underneath 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 political backing, whereas Trump's solid Republican base gave him more flexibility to act.

Ultimately, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had little impact than the reality that, during his term, the Israeli government was not ready to make peace.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with the Islamic Republic chastened, Hezbollah to its northern border greatly diminished and Gaza in ruins, every one of its major strategy objectives had been achieved.

Commercial Background Helped Secure Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in Doha, which killed a Qatari citizen but no Hamas officials, led the president to issue an final demand to the prime minister. The war had to end.

Trump had given Israel a relatively free hand in Gaza. He lent American military might to Israeli operations in the neighboring country. 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 informed the press that this was a decisive moment which motivated the leader to exert full force to finalize an agreement.

This US president's strong connections with the Gulf states are well documented. Trump has commercial interests with the emirate and the UAE. The president began each of his administrations with official trips to Saudi Arabia. Recently, Trump also stopped in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

His normalization agreements, which established ties between the Jewish state and a number of Arab nations, such as the Emirates, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

The time devoted in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula in recent months contributed to shift his perspective, according to an expert of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not visit the country on this regional tour but visited the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the state where he received repeated calls to bring an end to the conflict.

Less than a month after that attack on the city, Trump was present nearby as Netanyahu personally called Qatar to apologise. And later that day, the Israeli leader gave approval on the president'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 provided him the room to influence Israel to reach an agreement, his history with Arab rulers may have ensured their support, and helped them convince the group to commit to the deal.

"A key factor that evidently occurred was that the US leader developed influence with the Israelis, and indirectly with Hamas," says an analyst of the a research center.

"That made a difference. His ability to do this on his own schedule, and avoid yielding to the demands of the warring sides has been a problem that many earlier administrations have struggled with, and he appears to do with some success."

The reality that Trump is far better liked in Israel than Netanyahu personally was leverage that Trump used to his benefit, he adds.

Currently the Israeli government has committed to releasing over a thousand detainees held in Israeli prisons and has consented to a limited pullback from Gaza.

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

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