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At first, Israel's aerial attack on the Hamas negotiating team in Qatar appeared like another intensification that pushed the prospect of a ceasefire out of reach.

The attack on September 9 breached the territorial integrity of an US partner and threatened expanding the hostilities into a broader regional conflict.

Negotiations appeared to be in ruins.

However, it proved to be a key moment that has led in a deal, declared by President Donald Trump, to free all remaining hostages.

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

It is just the first step towards a lasting resolution, and the details of Hamas disarmament, Gaza governance and full Israeli withdrawal are still to be negotiated.

Yet if this deal stands, it could be Donald Trump's defining accomplishment of his second term - one that escaped Biden and his diplomatic team.

The president's distinct approach and key alliances with the Israeli government and the Arab world appear to have contributed in this breakthrough.

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

A Close Relationship That Biden Never Had

In public, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

Trump often states that Israel has no better friend, and Netanyahu has called him as the country's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". Moreover these warm words have been matched by actions.

Throughout his initial time in office, the president moved the American diplomatic mission in Israel from its former location to Jerusalem and discarded a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, the view under international law.

After Israel began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in June, the US leader ordered American aircraft to target the nation's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

Those visible shows of backing may have given Trump the leeway to apply more influence on the Israeli government behind the scenes. According to reports, Trump's negotiator, his representative, pressured Netanyahu in the latter part of the year into accepting a temporary ceasefire in return for the release of a number of captives.

When Israeli forces launched strikes against Syria's military in July, including bombing a place of worship, Trump urged Netanyahu to alter tactics.

Trump displayed a level of determination and insistence on an Israel's leader that is virtually unprecedented, according to an analyst of the a think tank. "There is no example of an American president literally telling an Israeli prime minister that they must agree or else."

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

His administration's "bear hug strategy" held that the US had to embrace Israel publicly in order to enable it to influence the nation's military actions behind closed doors.

Underneath this was the president's nearly half-century of backing for Israel, as well as sharp divisions within his Democratic coalition over the conflict in Gaza. Each move the leader took endangered fracturing his own political backing, whereas his successor's loyal conservative voters provided him more flexibility to manoeuvre.

Ultimately, internal considerations or personal relationships may have had little impact than the reality that, throughout Biden's presidency, the Israeli government was not ready to make peace.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with the Islamic Republic weakened, Hezbollah to its northern border greatly diminished and Gaza devastated, every one of its key military goals had been accomplished.

Commercial Background Helped Secure Gulf's Backing

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

Trump had given Israel a relatively free hand in the territory. He lent US armed support to Israeli operations in the neighboring country. But an strike on Qatari territory was a separate issue completely, pushing him towards the stance of Arab nations on how best to end the war.

Several Trump officials have told media outlets that this was a decisive moment which galvanised the leader to apply maximum pressure to finalize an agreement.

The leader's strong connections with the Arab monarchies are widely known. Trump has business dealings with the emirate and the United Arab Emirates. He began each of his administrations with official trips to the kingdom. This year, he also stopped in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

The president's Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between the Jewish state and a number of Arab nations, such as the Emirates, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

His visits devoted in the cities of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year helped shift his perspective, says Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not visit the country on this regional tour but went to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar where he heard consistent appeals to put a stop to the conflict.

Less than a month after that attack on Doha, the president was present close as Netanyahu himself phoned the Qatari leadership to apologise. And later that day, the Israeli leader signed off on the president's 20-point peace plan for the territory - one that also had the backing of influential Arab states in the region.

Assuming Trump's relationship with Netanyahu gave him the ability to pressure the government to reach an agreement, his history with Arab rulers may have ensured their backing, and assisted them convince the group to commit to the deal.

"A key factor that evidently occurred was that President Trump developed leverage with the Israeli government, and through intermediaries with the militants," says Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"That made a difference. The capacity to do this on his timing, and avoid yielding to the desires of the combatants has been a challenge that lot of previous presidents have struggled with, and Trump appears to handle relatively successfully."

The fact that Trump is much more popular in the nation than Netanyahu personally was an advantage that Trump used to his advantage, he adds.

Now the Israeli government has agreed to freeing over a thousand detainees held in its jails and has agreed to a partial withdrawal from the strip.

Hamas will release all the captives still held, both alive and deceased, captured during the original 7 October assault, which caused the loss of over 1,200 Israelis.

A conclusion to the war, which has led to the devastation of Gaza and the fatalities of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal