The Way Donald Trump Achieved a Gaza Strip Major Step That Eluded Joe Biden

At first, the Israeli aerial attack on the Hamas militant delegation in Doha seemed like another escalation that pushed the prospect of peace further away.

This strike on 9 September violated the sovereignty of an US partner and threatened widening the conflict into a broader regional conflict.

Diplomacy appeared to be collapsing.

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

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

This marks just the first step towards a lasting resolution, and the details of disarming Hamas, administering Gaza and full Israeli withdrawal remain to be worked out.

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

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

However, as with many diplomatic achievements, there were also factors at play beyond the control of either man.

Strong Ties That Eluded Biden

Publicly, Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are consistently friendly.

The president likes to say that the nation has no better friend, and Netanyahu has described him as the country's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". Moreover these warm words have been backed up by deeds.

Throughout his first presidential term, the president moved the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and discarded a traditional American stance that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, the position under international law.

When Israel began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in June, Trump ordered US bombers to target the nation's atomic sites with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those public demonstrations of support may have allowed Trump the leeway to exert more pressure on Israel in private. According to reports, Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, pressured the prime minister in late 2024 into accepting a temporary ceasefire in return for the release of a number of captives.

After Israeli forces launched strikes against Syria's military in July, even bombing a Christian church, the US president urged Netanyahu to alter tactics.

Trump exhibited a degree of will and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is rarely seen, according to Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "It's unheard of of an US leader directly instructing an Israeli leader that you're going to have to comply or else."

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

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

Beneath this was Biden's nearly half-century of support for Israel, as well as sharp divisions within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Every step Biden took endangered dividing his own political backing, whereas his successor's solid Republican base gave him more room to manoeuvre.

Ultimately, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had little impact than the simple fact that, during his term, the Israeli government was unwilling to reach an agreement.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with Iran chastened, Hezbollah to its immediate north significantly reduced and the coastal strip devastated, every one of its key military goals had been achieved.

Business History Assisted Secure Gulf's Backing

The Israeli missile attack in Doha, which killed a local national but not the intended targets, prompted Trump to deliver an ultimatum to Netanyahu. The war had to stop.

Trump had given Israel a relatively free hand in the territory. He lent American military might to Israel's campaign in the neighboring country. But an strike on Qatari territory was a separate issue completely, moving him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several administration figures have told the press that this was a turning point which motivated the president to apply full force to finalize an agreement.

The leader's close ties with the Gulf states are widely known. Trump has business dealings with the emirate and the United Arab Emirates. The president began both his presidential terms with official trips to the kingdom. This year, he also visited in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

The president's normalization agreements, which normalised relations between Israel and several Muslim states, including the Emirates, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his initial presidency.

His visits devoted in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year helped change his thinking, says an expert of the a policy institute. Trump did not travel to the country on this regional tour but visited the UAE, the kingdom and the state where he heard consistent appeals to bring an end to the war.

Within weeks after that Israeli strike on the city, Trump sat nearby as Netanyahu personally phoned the Qatari leadership to apologise. And later that day, the Israeli leader gave approval on the president's 20-point peace plan for Gaza - one that additionally had the support of influential Arab states in the area.

If the president's relationship with his counterpart provided him the ability to pressure the government to strike a deal, his history with Arab rulers may have ensured their support, and assisted them convince Hamas to commit to the arrangement.

"One of the things that clearly happened was that the US leader developed leverage with the Israeli government, and through intermediaries with Hamas," notes an analyst of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"This was crucial. His ability to do this on his own schedule, and not succumb to the demands of the warring sides has been a challenge that lot of earlier administrations have struggled with, and he seems to handle with some success."

The fact that the president is much more popular in the nation than the prime minister himself was an advantage that Trump employed to his advantage, he adds.

Currently Israel has committed to releasing more than 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli prisons and has consented to a limited pullback from Gaza.

The group will release all the captives still held, living and dead, taken during the original 7 October assault, which caused the loss of over 1,200 Israelis.

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