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

This strike on 9 September violated the territorial integrity of an US partner and risked widening the conflict into a broader regional conflict.

Diplomacy seemed to be in ruins.

Instead, it proved to be a pivotal event that has led in a deal, announced by President Donald Trump, to release all captives still held.

That represents a objective that Trump, and President Joe Biden previously, had pursued for nearly two years.

It is just the initial phase towards a lasting resolution, and the specifics of Hamas disarmament, administering Gaza and full Israeli withdrawal are still to be negotiated.

But if this deal holds, it could be Trump's defining accomplishment of his return to office - one that escaped Biden and his diplomatic team.

Trump's unique style and crucial relationships with Israel and the Middle Eastern nations appear to have contributed in this success.

But, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also elements at play beyond the influence of either man.

Strong Ties Which Eluded Biden

In public, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

The president often states that the nation has no better friend, and Netanyahu has described Trump as the country's "greatest ever ally in the US presidency". And these warm words have been backed up by actions.

During his first presidential term, Trump moved the US embassy in the country from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and abandoned a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are illegal, the position under international law.

After the Israeli military began its bombing campaign against Iran in June, the US leader ordered US bombers to target the Iran's atomic sites with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those visible shows of support may have given the president the room to apply more influence on the Israeli government behind the scenes. According to reports, the president's negotiator, his representative, pressured the prime minister in the latter part of the year into accepting a halt in fighting in return for the release of a number of captives.

When Israeli forces attacked against Syrian forces in the summer, including hitting a place of worship, the US president urged Netanyahu to alter tactics.

Trump displayed a level of determination and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is virtually unprecedented, says Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "There is no example of an US leader directly instructing an Israeli prime minister that they must agree or else."

Biden's relationship with Netanyahu's government was always more tenuous.

His administration's "close embrace strategy" held that the United States had to support Israel publicly in order to enable it to moderate the nation's war conduct in private.

Underneath this was the president's decades-long of backing for the state, as well as deep disagreements within his Democratic coalition over the Gaza War. Every step Biden took risked dividing his own political backing, while Trump's solid Republican base provided him more room to act.

Ultimately, internal considerations or personal relationships may have had less importance than the reality that, throughout his term, the Israeli government was unwilling to make peace.

Several months into Trump's second term, with Iran chastened, Hezbollah to its immediate north significantly reduced and Gaza in ruins, every one of its major strategy objectives had been accomplished.

Business History Helped Gain Gulf's Backing

The Israeli missile attack in Doha, which resulted in the death of a Qatari citizen but not the intended targets, prompted the president to deliver an final demand to Netanyahu. The war had to end.

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

Several Trump officials have told media outlets that this was a turning point which galvanised the president to apply maximum pressure to finalize an agreement.

This US president's close ties with the Gulf states are well documented. Trump has business dealings with the emirate and the United Arab Emirates. The president began both his presidential terms with official trips to the kingdom. This year, he also stopped in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

His normalization agreements, which normalised relations between Israel and several Muslim states, including the UAE, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his first term.

His visits devoted in the cities of the Gulf region earlier this year helped change his thinking, according to an expert of the Council on Foreign Relations. The US president did not travel to the country on this Middle East trip but visited the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom and Qatar where the leader heard repeated calls to put a stop to the war.

Within weeks after that Israeli strike on the city, Trump sat nearby as Netanyahu himself called the Qatari leadership to apologise. Subsequently, the prime minister gave approval on Trump's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that additionally had the backing of influential Arab states in the area.

Assuming the president's relationship with Netanyahu provided him the room to pressure Israel to reach an agreement, his past with Arab rulers may have secured their support, and helped them persuade Hamas to agree to the deal.

"One of the things that clearly happened was that the US leader developed leverage with the Israeli government, and indirectly with Hamas," notes Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"This was crucial. The capacity to achieve this on his timing, and avoid yielding to the desires of the combatants has been a problem that lot of earlier administrations have faced, and Trump seems to handle relatively successfully."

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

Currently Israel has committed to releasing more than 1,000 detainees imprisoned in its jails and has agreed to a partial withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas will free all the captives still held, both alive and deceased, taken in the initial October 7 assault, which resulted in the loss of over 1,200 Israelis.

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