The Way Trump Secured a Gaza Strip Breakthrough That Eluded Joe Biden

At first, the Israeli aerial attack on the Hamas militant delegation in Doha appeared like another intensification that drove the hope of peace out of reach.

This strike on September 9 breached the territorial integrity of an US partner and risked expanding the hostilities into a region-wide war.

Negotiations appeared to be collapsing.

Instead, it turned out to be a key moment that has led in a deal, declared by President Donald Trump, to release all captives still held.

This is a goal that he, and President Joe Biden previously, had sought for almost 24 months.

It is just the first step 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 Donald Trump's signature achievement of his second term - one that escaped Joe Biden and his administration.

Trump's unique style and key alliances with Israel and the Arab world appear to have contributed in this breakthrough.

But, as with many foreign policy wins, there were also factors involved beyond the control of either man.

Strong Ties Which Biden Never Had

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

Trump often states that Israel has no better friend, and Netanyahu has described him as Israel's "greatest ever ally in the White House". Moreover these positive statements have been backed up by deeds.

Throughout his initial time in office, Trump moved the US embassy in the country from Tel Aviv to the contested capital and abandoned a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are illegal, the position under global norms.

When the Israeli military began its air strikes against the Islamic Republic in the summer, the US leader ordered US bombers to target the nation's atomic sites with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

These public demonstrations of support may have allowed the president the room to exert more pressure on the Israeli government in private. As per sources, Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, pressured Netanyahu in late 2024 into agreeing to a halt in fighting in return for the freeing of some hostages.

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

The leader displayed a degree of will and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is virtually unprecedented, according to Aaron David Miller of the a think tank. "There is no example of an American president directly instructing an Israeli prime minister that they must agree or else."

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

His administration's "close embrace strategy" argued that the US had to embrace the nation publicly in order to enable it to influence the country's war conduct in private.

Beneath this was the president's decades-long of backing for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Every step the leader took endangered fracturing his own political backing, whereas his successor's loyal conservative voters gave him more flexibility to manoeuvre.

In the end, internal considerations or individual ties may have had little impact than the simple fact that, during Biden's presidency, Israel was unwilling to reach an agreement.

Eight months into his new administration, with the Islamic Republic chastened, Hezbollah to its northern border significantly reduced and the coastal strip devastated, all its key military goals had been accomplished.

Business History Assisted Gain Gulf's Backing

The Israeli missile attack in Doha, which killed a local national but not the intended targets, led Trump to issue an ultimatum to the prime minister. The war had to stop.

Trump had allowed the Israeli military a relatively free hand in Gaza. The president lent US armed support to Israel's campaign in the neighboring country. However an strike on Qatari territory was a separate issue completely, moving him closer to the stance of Arab nations on how best to end the war.

A number of administration figures have informed the press that this was a decisive moment which motivated the president to apply full force to finalize an agreement.

The leader's close ties with the Gulf states are well documented. He has commercial interests with the emirate and the UAE. He began both his presidential terms with state visits to Saudi Arabia. This year, Trump also stopped in Doha and the UAE capital.

His Abraham Accords, which established ties between the Jewish state and a number of Arab nations, including the Emirates, was the most significant diplomatic achievement of his first term.

The time he spent in the cities of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year helped change his thinking, according to Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump did not travel to Israel on this regional tour but visited the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the state where the leader received consistent appeals to bring an end to the war.

Less than a month after that Israeli strike on Doha, Trump was present nearby as Netanyahu personally phoned the Qatari leadership to apologise. Subsequently, the prime minister signed off on Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza - one that additionally had the backing of influential Arab states in the region.

If Trump's alliance with his counterpart gave him the room to pressure Israel to strike a deal, his history with Arab rulers may have ensured their support, and helped them convince Hamas to agree to the deal.

"One of the things that clearly happened was that President Trump gained influence with the Israeli government, and indirectly with Hamas," notes Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"That made a difference. The capacity to achieve this on his timing, and avoid yielding to the desires of the combatants has been a challenge that many earlier administrations have struggled with, and he appears to handle relatively successfully."

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

Currently the Israeli government has agreed to freeing over a thousand detainees held in Israeli prisons and has consented to a partial withdrawal from Gaza.

The group will release all the remaining hostages, both alive and deceased, captured during the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which caused the death of over 1,200 Israeli citizens.

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