🔗 Share this article

Initially, the Israeli air strike on the Hamas delegation in Qatar seemed like yet another intensification that drove the prospect of a ceasefire out of reach.

The attack on September 9 breached the sovereignty of an US partner and risked widening the conflict into a broader regional conflict.

Diplomacy appeared to be collapsing.

Instead, it turned out to be a key moment that culminated in a deal, declared by Donald Trump, to free all remaining hostages.

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

This marks just the first step towards a more durable peace, and the specifics of disarming Hamas, administering Gaza and full Israeli withdrawal are still to be negotiated.

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

The president's distinct approach and crucial relationships with Israel and the Middle Eastern nations seem to have played a role in this success.

However, as with many diplomatic achievements, there were also factors at play beyond the influence of both leaders.

A Close Relationship Which Biden Never Had

Publicly, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

The president likes to say that the nation has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has called Trump as the country's "greatest ever ally in the White House". And these warm words have been backed up by deeds.

During his first presidential term, the president moved 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 international law.

After the Israeli military began its bombing campaign against Iran in the summer, Trump ordered American aircraft to target the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

Those visible shows of backing may have allowed the president the room to apply more influence on the Israeli government behind the scenes. According to reports, the president's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, pressured Netanyahu in late 2024 into accepting a temporary ceasefire in return for the freeing of some hostages.

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

Trump exhibited a degree of will and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is rarely seen, says Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an American president literally telling an Israeli prime minister that you're going to have to comply or else."

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

The Biden team's "bear hug approach" held that the United States had to support the nation openly in order to enable it to moderate the nation's war conduct in private.

Beneath this was the president's nearly half-century of backing for the state, as well as deep disagreements within his Democratic coalition over the conflict in Gaza. Every step the leader took risked fracturing his own political backing, whereas his successor's solid Republican base gave him more flexibility to manoeuvre.

Ultimately, domestic politics or individual ties may have had less importance than the reality that, during his term, Israel was not ready to reach an agreement.

Eight months into his new administration, with the Islamic Republic chastened, Hezbollah to its immediate north greatly diminished and Gaza in ruins, every one of its key military goals had been achieved.

Commercial Background Helped Gain Support from Arab States

The Israeli missile attack in the Qatari capital, which resulted in the death of a local national but not the intended targets, led Trump to deliver an ultimatum to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to end.

The US leader had allowed the Israeli military a relatively free hand in the territory. He provided US armed support to Israel's campaign in the neighboring country. But an attack on Qatar soil was a separate issue entirely, moving him towards the stance of Arab nations on how best to end the war.

A number of administration figures have told the press that this was a turning point which galvanised the president to exert full force to finalize an agreement.

The leader's close ties with the Arab monarchies are widely known. Trump has business dealings with the emirate and the United Arab Emirates. The president began each of his administrations with official trips to Saudi Arabia. This year, he also stopped in Qatar and the UAE capital.

The president's normalization agreements, which established ties between the Jewish state and several Muslim states, such as the UAE, was the biggest foreign policy success of his first term.

The time devoted in the capitals of the Gulf region in recent months helped shift his perspective, says Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not visit the country on this Middle East trip but visited the UAE, the kingdom and Qatar where the leader received repeated calls to put a stop to the conflict.

Within weeks after that attack on the city, the president sat close as the prime minister personally called the Qatari leadership to express regret. Subsequently, the Israeli leader gave approval on Trump's 20-point peace plan for the territory - one that also had the support of influential Arab states in the area.

If Trump's relationship with his counterpart gave him the room to pressure the government to strike a deal, his history with Muslim leaders may have secured their backing, and assisted them persuade Hamas to commit to the arrangement.

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

"This was crucial. The capacity to achieve this on his timing, and not succumb 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 reality that the president is much more popular in Israel than Netanyahu himself was an advantage that he used to his advantage, he adds.

Currently Israel has agreed to freeing more than 1,000 detainees imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has consented to a partial withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas will release all the captives still held, both alive and deceased, captured during the original 7 October Hamas attack, which caused the death of more than 1,200 Israeli citizens.

An end to the conflict, which has resulted in the destruction of Gaza and the fatalities of more than 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal