🔗 Share this article

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

This strike on 9 September breached the sovereignty of an US partner and risked expanding the conflict into a region-wide war.

Negotiations seemed to be in ruins.

Instead, it turned out to be a pivotal event that culminated in a deal, declared by Donald Trump, to free all captives still held.

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

It is just the first step 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 Donald Trump's signature achievement of his second term - one that eluded Biden and his diplomatic team.

The president's distinct approach and crucial relationships with Israel and the Middle Eastern nations seem to have contributed in this breakthrough.

But, as with many foreign policy wins, there were also elements at play beyond the control of both leaders.

Strong Ties That Biden Never Had

In public, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

Trump likes to say that the nation has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has described him as the country's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". Moreover these warm words have been backed up by actions.

During his first presidential term, Trump moved the American diplomatic mission in the country from its former location to Jerusalem and discarded a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank are against international law, the position under global norms.

After Israel began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in the summer, Trump ordered American aircraft to strike the Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These public demonstrations of backing may have allowed Trump the room to apply more pressure on Israel in private. According to reports, Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, browbeat Netanyahu 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 July, including hitting a Christian church, the US president urged Netanyahu to alter tactics.

Trump displayed a degree of determination and pressure on an Israel's leader that is rarely seen, says Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an American president directly instructing an Israeli prime minister that you're going to have to comply or else."

Joe Biden's connection with Netanyahu's government was always more tenuous.

The Biden team's "close embrace strategy" held that the US had to support the nation openly in order to enable it to moderate the nation's military actions behind closed doors.

Underneath this was the president's decades-long of support for the state, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the Gaza War. Every step Biden took endangered fracturing his own political backing, while Trump's solid Republican base gave him more flexibility to act.

Ultimately, internal considerations or individual ties may have had less importance than the simple fact that, during Biden's presidency, Israel was not ready to reach an agreement.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with the Islamic Republic weakened, Hezbollah to its immediate north significantly reduced and Gaza devastated, all its key military goals had been accomplished.

Commercial Background Assisted Secure Gulf's Backing

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

The US leader had allowed the Israeli military a significant latitude in Gaza. The president lent US armed support to Israel's campaign in Iran. However an attack on Qatari territory was a different matter completely, pushing him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several administration figures have told the press that this was a turning point which motivated the president to apply maximum pressure to finalize an agreement.

This US president's strong connections with the Arab monarchies are well documented. Trump has business dealings with Qatar and the UAE. He began both his presidential terms with official trips to the kingdom. Recently, he also visited in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

The president's Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between Israel and a number of Arab nations, including the Emirates, was the most significant foreign policy success of his first term.

The time devoted in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula in recent months contributed to shift his perspective, according to Ed Husain of the a policy institute. Trump did not travel to Israel on this Middle East trip but visited the UAE, the kingdom and Qatar where the leader heard repeated calls to put a stop to the conflict.

Within weeks after that attack on Doha, Trump sat nearby as Netanyahu himself phoned Qatar to express regret. And later that day, the Israeli leader signed off on Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza - one that also had the backing of key Muslim nations in the area.

Assuming Trump's relationship with his counterpart provided him the room to pressure the government to reach an agreement, his history with Muslim leaders may have secured their support, and helped them convince Hamas to commit to the arrangement.

"One of the things that evidently occurred was that President Trump gained leverage with the Israelis, and indirectly with the militants," says Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"That made a difference. His ability to achieve this on his timing, and not succumb to the demands of the warring sides has been a problem that many earlier administrations have struggled with, and Trump seems to handle relatively successfully."

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

Currently Israel has agreed to releasing more than 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned in its jails and has agreed to a limited pullback from the strip.

The group will free all the captives still held, both alive and deceased, captured during the original 7 October assault, which caused the loss of more than 1,200 Israelis.

A conclusion to the conflict, which has led to the devastation of the territory and the deaths of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal