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Initially, Israel's aerial attack on the Hamas militant negotiating team in Doha seemed like another escalation that pushed the prospect of a ceasefire further away.

This strike on September 9 violated the sovereignty of an American ally and risked expanding the hostilities into a region-wide war.

Negotiations seemed to be collapsing.

Instead, it proved to be a key moment that has led in a agreement, announced by President Donald Trump, to release all captives still held.

That represents a goal that Trump, and Joe Biden before him, had sought for almost 24 months.

This marks just the initial phase towards a lasting resolution, and the specifics of Hamas disarmament, Gaza governance and full Israeli withdrawal remain to be worked out.

But if this agreement holds, it could be Trump's signature achievement of his second term - one that escaped Biden and his administration.

The president's distinct approach and key alliances with Israel and the Middle Eastern nations seem to have played a role in this breakthrough.

However, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also elements at play beyond the control of both leaders.

Strong Ties Which Biden Never Had

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

The president often states that Israel has no greater ally, and the Israeli leader has described him as Israel's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". Moreover these warm words have been backed up by deeds.

During his initial time in office, Trump moved the American diplomatic mission in the country from its former location to the contested capital and discarded a traditional American stance that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank are illegal, the view under global norms.

When the Israeli military began its air strikes against Iran in June, Trump directed US bombers to target the Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those visible shows of support 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, browbeat the prime minister in the latter part of the year into accepting a halt in fighting in return for the freeing of a number of captives.

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

Trump exhibited a degree of determination and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is rarely seen, according to an analyst of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "There is no example of an American president directly instructing an Israeli prime minister that you're going to have to comply or else."

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

His administration's "close embrace approach" held that the US had to support Israel publicly in order to enable it to moderate the nation's military actions in private.

Underneath this was Biden's decades-long of backing for Israel, as well as sharp divisions within his political base over the Gaza War. Every step Biden took endangered dividing his own political backing, while his successor's loyal conservative voters provided him more flexibility to act.

Ultimately, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had little impact than the simple fact that, during Biden's presidency, Israel was not ready to make peace.

Several months into his new administration, with Iran weakened, Hezbollah to its northern border greatly diminished and Gaza in ruins, every one of its key military goals had been achieved.

Commercial Background Helped Secure Gulf's Backing

The Israeli missile attack in Doha, which resulted in the death of a local national but no Hamas officials, led Trump to issue an ultimatum to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to end.

Trump had given the Israeli military a relatively free hand in Gaza. He lent American military might to Israel's campaign in the neighboring country. But an attack on Qatar soil was a separate issue completely, pushing him closer to the Arab position on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several administration figures have informed media outlets that this was a decisive moment which galvanised the leader to exert full force to finalize an agreement.

The leader's close ties with the Arab monarchies are widely known. He has business dealings with the emirate and the UAE. The president began each of his administrations with official trips to the kingdom. Recently, he also stopped in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The president's Abraham Accords, which established ties between Israel and a number of Arab nations, such as the Emirates, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

The time he spent in the cities of the Arabian Peninsula in recent months helped change his thinking, says an expert of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not travel to the country on this regional tour but visited the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the state where the leader heard consistent appeals to put a stop to the war.

Less than a month after that attack on Doha, the president sat nearby as Netanyahu himself phoned the Qatari leadership to apologise. Subsequently, the prime minister gave approval on the president's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that also had the support of key Muslim nations in the area.

If Trump's alliance with his counterpart gave him the ability to pressure Israel to strike a deal, his history with Muslim leaders may have secured their backing, and assisted them convince Hamas to agree to the arrangement.

"A key factor 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 own schedule, and not succumb to the desires of the warring sides has been a problem that lot of previous presidents have faced, and Trump appears to do with some success."

The fact that the president is far better liked in the nation than Netanyahu personally was an advantage that he used to his advantage, he adds.

Now Israel has committed to freeing over a thousand detainees imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has agreed to a partial withdrawal from Gaza.

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

A conclusion to the conflict, which has resulted in the devastation of Gaza and the fatalities of more than 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal