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Initially, the Israeli air strike on the Hamas militant delegation in Doha appeared like another escalation that drove the prospect of a ceasefire out of reach.

The attack on 9 September violated the territorial integrity of an US partner and threatened widening the hostilities into a region-wide war.

Negotiations seemed to be collapsing.

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

This is a goal that Trump, and Joe Biden before him, had sought for nearly two years.

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

But if this agreement stands, it could be Donald Trump's signature achievement of his second term - one that eluded Biden and his diplomatic team.

Trump's unique style and crucial relationships with the Israeli government and the Arab world appear to have contributed in this success.

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

A Close Relationship Which Biden Never Had

In public, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

Trump likes to say that the nation has no better friend, and the Israeli leader has called him as Israel's "most supportive friend in the White House". And these warm words have been matched by deeds.

Throughout his initial time in office, Trump relocated the US embassy in the country from its former location to the contested capital and discarded a long-held US position that Jewish communities in the Palestinian West Bank are against international law, the position under global norms.

When the Israeli military began its bombing campaign against Iran in the summer, the US leader directed US bombers to strike the nation's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These visible shows of support may have allowed the president the leeway to exert more pressure on Israel behind the scenes. As per sources, the president's envoy, his representative, browbeat Netanyahu in the latter part of the year into agreeing to a halt in fighting in exchange for the release of some hostages.

After Israeli forces launched strikes against Syrian forces in July, including hitting a place of worship, the US president pressured his counterpart to alter tactics.

Trump exhibited a level of determination and insistence on an Israeli prime minister that is rarely seen, says an analyst of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an US leader literally telling an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

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

The Biden team's "bear hug strategy" argued that the United States had to support the nation openly in order to enable it to influence the nation's war conduct behind closed doors.

Underneath this was Biden's nearly half-century of backing for the state, as well as deep disagreements within his Democratic coalition over the Gaza War. Each move Biden took endangered fracturing his own political backing, whereas Trump's loyal conservative voters provided him more room to act.

In the end, internal considerations or individual ties may have had less importance than the reality that, during Biden's presidency, Israel was unwilling to make peace.

Eight months into his new administration, with Iran chastened, Hezbollah to its northern border significantly reduced and Gaza in ruins, all its key military goals had been accomplished.

Commercial Background Assisted Gain Support from Arab States

An Israeli strike in the Qatari capital, which killed a local national but not the intended targets, led the president to deliver an ultimatum to Netanyahu. The war had to stop.

The US leader had given Israel a significant latitude in the territory. The president provided American military might to Israel's campaign in the neighboring country. But an attack on Qatar soil was a separate issue entirely, moving him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

A number of Trump officials have informed media outlets that this was a turning point which motivated the leader to apply full force to finalize an agreement.

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

His Abraham Accords, which established ties between Israel and several Muslim states, including the UAE, was the biggest foreign policy success of his initial presidency.

The time he spent in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year contributed to shift his perspective, says an expert of the Council on Foreign Relations. The US president did not visit Israel on this regional tour but visited the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom and Qatar where he heard repeated calls to put a stop to the war.

Less than a month after that attack on Doha, the president sat close as the prime minister personally phoned the Qatari leadership to express regret. Subsequently, the Israeli leader gave approval on Trump's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that also had the backing of influential Arab states in the region.

If the president's alliance with his counterpart gave him the room to pressure the government to strike a deal, his history with Arab rulers may have secured their support, and helped them convince the group to commit to the arrangement.

"One of the things that clearly happened was that President Trump developed influence with the Israelis, and indirectly with Hamas," notes an analyst of the a research center.

"That made a difference. His ability to achieve this on his own schedule, and avoid yielding to the desires of the warring sides has been a challenge that many earlier administrations have faced, and he appears to do with some success."

The fact that the president is much more popular in Israel than the prime minister himself was leverage that Trump employed to his benefit, he adds.

Currently Israel has committed to freeing more than 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has agreed to a partial withdrawal from the strip.

Hamas will free all the remaining hostages, living and dead, captured during the original 7 October Hamas attack, which resulted in the loss of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

An end to the war, which has led to the devastation of the territory and the deaths of over 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal