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

The attack on September 9 breached the sovereignty of an American ally and risked widening the hostilities into a region-wide war.

Diplomacy appeared to be in ruins.

However, it turned out to be a key moment that has led in a agreement, declared by Donald Trump, to release all remaining hostages.

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

This marks just the initial phase towards a more durable peace, and the details of disarming Hamas, administering Gaza and complete Israeli pullout remain to be negotiated.

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

The president's distinct approach and crucial relationships with Israel and the Arab world appear to have contributed in this success.

But, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also factors involved beyond the influence of both leaders.

A Close Relationship That Eluded Biden

Publicly, Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

Trump likes to say that the nation has no better friend, and Netanyahu has called him as the country's "most supportive friend in the White House". And these positive statements have been backed up by actions.

Throughout his first presidential term, the president relocated the American diplomatic mission in the country from its former location 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 air strikes against the Islamic Republic in the summer, Trump ordered US bombers to target the Iran's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These visible shows of backing may have given Trump the room to exert more pressure on the Israeli government in private. According to reports, the president's envoy, his representative, pressured the prime minister in the latter part of the year into accepting a halt in fighting in exchange for the freeing of some hostages.

When Israeli forces attacked against Syria's military in the summer, even hitting a Christian church, the US president pressured his counterpart to alter tactics.

The leader exhibited a degree of determination and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is rarely seen, says Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "It's unheard of of an American president literally telling an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

Joe Biden's relationship with Netanyahu's government was always more strained.

The Biden team's "bear hug approach" argued that the United States had to support the nation publicly in order to enable it to moderate the country's military actions in private.

Underneath this was the president's nearly half-century of support for the state, as well as deep disagreements within his Democratic coalition over the conflict in Gaza. Every step the leader took risked dividing his own domestic support, while his successor's solid Republican base provided him more room to manoeuvre.

In the end, domestic politics or individual ties may have had little impact than the reality that, during Biden's presidency, the Israeli government was unwilling to reach an agreement.

Eight months into his new administration, with Iran chastened, Hezbollah to its northern border greatly diminished and Gaza devastated, every one of its key military goals had been achieved.

Business History Helped Secure Support from Arab States

The Israeli missile attack in Doha, which killed a Qatari citizen but not the intended targets, prompted the president to issue an ultimatum to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to stop.

The US leader had given the Israeli military a relatively free hand in the territory. He lent American military might to Israeli operations in the neighboring country. But an strike on Qatari territory was a different matter completely, pushing him towards the Arab position on how best to conclude the conflict.

A number of Trump officials have informed 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 close ties with the Arab monarchies are widely known. He has commercial interests with the emirate and the United Arab Emirates. The president began both his presidential terms with official trips to the kingdom. Recently, Trump also visited in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

His Abraham Accords, which established ties between the Jewish state and a number of Arab nations, including the Emirates, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

His visits devoted in the cities of the Gulf region earlier this year helped shift his perspective, says Ed Husain of the a policy institute. The US president did not travel to the country on this regional tour but visited the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom and Qatar where the leader heard consistent appeals to bring an end to the war.

Within weeks after that attack on the city, Trump was present close as the prime minister personally called Qatar to express regret. Subsequently, the Israeli leader signed off on Trump's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that additionally had the backing of key Muslim nations in the region.

If Trump's relationship with Netanyahu provided him the room to pressure the government to reach an agreement, his past with Muslim leaders may have ensured their backing, and assisted them persuade Hamas to agree to the deal.

"One of the things that evidently occurred was that President Trump developed leverage with the Israelis, and through intermediaries with the militants," says Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"This was crucial. His ability to achieve this on his timing, and avoid yielding to the demands of the combatants has been a challenge that lot of earlier administrations have faced, and Trump seems to do with some success."

The fact that the president is far better liked in Israel than Netanyahu personally was leverage that he used to his advantage, the expert continues.

Now the Israeli government has agreed to freeing more than 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has agreed to a limited pullback from Gaza.

The group will release all the remaining hostages, both alive and deceased, captured during the initial October 7 assault, which caused the loss of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

An end to the conflict, which has resulted in the destruction of the territory and the deaths of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal