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

This strike on 9 September violated the sovereignty of an American ally and threatened expanding the conflict into a broader regional conflict.

Negotiations appeared to be collapsing.

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

That represents a objective that he, and Joe Biden before him, had pursued for nearly two years.

It is just the first step towards a lasting resolution, and the specifics of Hamas disarmament, administering Gaza and complete Israeli pullout are still to be worked out.

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

The president's unique style and key alliances with Israel and the Arab world appear to have contributed in this success.

However, as with many diplomatic achievements, there were also elements involved beyond the control of both leaders.

Strong Ties Which Eluded Biden

Publicly, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

Trump often states that Israel has no better friend, and the Israeli leader has described Trump as the country's "greatest ever ally in the US presidency". And these positive statements have been matched by deeds.

During his first presidential term, the president moved the US embassy in Israel from its former location to the contested capital and abandoned a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are against international law, the position under global norms.

After Israel began its air strikes against the Islamic Republic in June, Trump ordered American aircraft to strike the nation's atomic sites with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those visible shows of support may have given Trump the room to exert more influence on Israel in private. According to reports, Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, pressured Netanyahu in the latter part of the year into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the freeing of some hostages.

After Israeli forces attacked against Syria's military in July, including bombing a Christian church, the US president urged his counterpart to change course.

The leader displayed a level of will 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 American president literally telling an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

Biden's connection with the Israeli administration was always more tenuous.

His administration's "close embrace approach" held that the United States had to support Israel publicly in order to allow it to influence the country's war conduct behind closed doors.

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 Gaza War. Every step the leader took endangered fracturing his own political backing, whereas his successor's loyal conservative voters provided him more room to manoeuvre.

Ultimately, domestic politics or individual ties may have had less importance than the simple fact that, during his term, Israel was unwilling to reach an agreement.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with the Islamic Republic weakened, Hezbollah to its immediate north greatly diminished and Gaza devastated, all its major strategy objectives had been accomplished.

Commercial Background Helped Gain Gulf's Backing

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

The US leader had allowed Israel a significant latitude in the territory. He provided American military might to Israel's campaign in Iran. But an attack on Qatari territory was a different matter completely, moving him towards the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several administration figures have told media outlets that this was a decisive moment which motivated the leader to apply maximum pressure to finalize an agreement.

This US president's close ties with the Gulf states are well documented. He has commercial interests with the emirate and the UAE. The president began both his presidential terms with state visits to Saudi Arabia. Recently, Trump also stopped in Doha and the UAE capital.

The president's normalization agreements, which established ties between the Jewish state and a number of Arab nations, including the Emirates, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his first term.

The time devoted in the capitals of the Gulf region earlier this year contributed to change his thinking, according to Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not visit Israel on this regional tour but went to the UAE, the kingdom and Qatar where he received consistent appeals to put a stop to the war.

Within weeks after that Israeli strike on the city, the president sat close as the prime minister himself phoned Qatar to express regret. Subsequently, the prime minister signed off on Trump's comprehensive proposal for Gaza - one that additionally had the support of key Muslim nations in the region.

If Trump's alliance with his counterpart gave him the ability to influence Israel to strike a deal, his history with Arab rulers may have secured their backing, and helped them persuade the group to agree to the arrangement.

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

"This was crucial. His ability to do this on his timing, and not succumb to the demands of the combatants has been a challenge that many previous presidents have faced, and Trump seems to handle relatively successfully."

The fact that Trump is far better liked in the nation than the prime minister himself was leverage that he used to his advantage, the expert continues.

Currently the Israeli government has committed to freeing over a thousand detainees imprisoned in its jails and has agreed to a limited pullback from the strip.

Hamas will release all the remaining hostages, living and dead, captured in the original 7 October assault, which caused the loss of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

An end to the conflict, which has led to the destruction of the territory and the fatalities of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal