🔗 Share this article

Initially, the Israeli aerial attack on the Hamas militant delegation in Qatar seemed like another escalation that pushed the hope of peace further away.

This strike on September 9 breached the sovereignty of an US partner and risked widening the hostilities into a broader regional conflict.

Diplomacy seemed to be collapsing.

Instead, it proved to be a pivotal event that has led in a deal, announced by President Donald Trump, to free all captives still held.

That represents a goal that Trump, and Joe Biden previously, had pursued for almost 24 months.

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

Yet if this deal holds, it could be Donald Trump's defining accomplishment of his return to office - one that eluded Joe Biden and his diplomatic team.

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 most foreign policy wins, there were also factors involved beyond the control of both leaders.

A Close Relationship That Biden Never Had

Publicly, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

Trump likes to say that the nation has no greater ally, and the Israeli leader has called him as Israel's "most supportive friend in the White House". And these positive statements have been matched by actions.

Throughout his first presidential term, Trump relocated the American diplomatic mission in the country from Tel Aviv to the contested capital and discarded a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, the position under global norms.

When Israel began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in the summer, the US leader ordered American aircraft to target the Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those visible shows of backing may have allowed Trump the leeway to exert more influence on Israel in private. As per sources, the president's envoy, Steve Witkoff, browbeat the prime minister in late 2024 into accepting a halt in fighting in return for the release of some hostages.

When Israel launched strikes against Syria's military in the summer, even hitting a place of worship, the US president urged his counterpart to alter tactics.

Trump exhibited 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 directly instructing an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

Joe Biden's connection with the Israeli administration was always more strained.

His administration's "close embrace strategy" held that the US had to support the nation openly in order to allow it to moderate the nation's military actions in private.

Underneath this was the president's decades-long of support for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his Democratic coalition over the conflict in Gaza. Each move the leader took risked fracturing his own political backing, whereas his successor's loyal conservative voters provided him more flexibility to manoeuvre.

Ultimately, domestic politics or individual ties may have had little impact than the reality that, throughout Biden's presidency, Israel was not ready to reach an agreement.

Eight months into his new administration, with the Islamic Republic weakened, Hezbollah to its northern border significantly reduced and Gaza in ruins, every one of its key military goals had been accomplished.

Business History Assisted Secure Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in Doha, which resulted in the death of a local national but not the intended targets, prompted Trump to issue an final demand to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to stop.

Trump had allowed the Israeli military a significant latitude in the territory. The president lent American military might to Israeli operations in Iran. However an strike on Qatari territory was a separate issue completely, moving him towards the Arab position on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several administration figures have told the press that this was a decisive moment which galvanised the president to exert full force to get a peace deal done.

The leader's close ties 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 state visits to Saudi Arabia. This year, Trump also stopped in Qatar and the UAE capital.

The president's normalization agreements, which normalised relations between Israel and several Muslim states, such as the Emirates, was the biggest foreign policy success of his initial presidency.

His visits devoted in the cities of the Gulf region earlier this year helped shift his perspective, according to an expert of the a policy institute. The US president did not travel to Israel on this regional tour but went to the UAE, the kingdom and the state where he heard consistent appeals to put a stop to the conflict.

Less than a month after that Israeli strike on the city, the president sat close as the prime minister personally phoned Qatar to express regret. And later that day, the prime minister signed off on Trump's 20-point peace plan for the territory - one that also had the support of key Muslim nations in the area.

Assuming Trump's relationship with Netanyahu provided him the room to influence Israel to reach an agreement, his history with Muslim leaders may have ensured their support, and assisted them persuade Hamas to agree to the deal.

"A key factor that clearly happened was that President Trump developed influence 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 achieve this on his timing, and avoid yielding to the desires of the warring sides has been a problem that many previous presidents have struggled with, and Trump appears to do with some success."

The fact that Trump is far better liked in the nation than the prime minister himself was an advantage that he used to his benefit, the expert continues.

Now the Israeli government has committed to releasing over a thousand Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has agreed to a limited pullback from Gaza.

The group will release all the remaining hostages, both alive and deceased, captured in the initial October 7 assault, which resulted in the death of over 1,200 Israelis.

A conclusion to the war, which has led to the destruction of Gaza and the fatalities of more than 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal