How Trump Secured a Gaza Strip Breakthrough Which Eluded Joe Biden

Initially, the Israeli air strike on the Hamas militant delegation in Qatar appeared like yet another escalation that pushed the prospect of peace out of reach.

This strike on September 9 breached the sovereignty of an American ally and risked expanding the hostilities into a region-wide war.

Diplomacy seemed to be in ruins.

Instead, it proved to be a pivotal event that has led in a deal, announced by President 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 Hamas disarmament, Gaza governance and full Israeli withdrawal are still to be worked out.

Yet if this deal holds, it could be Trump's signature achievement of his return to office - one that escaped Joe Biden and his diplomatic team.

Trump's distinct approach and crucial relationships with the Israeli government and the Arab world appear to have played a role in this success.

But, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also elements at play beyond the influence of either man.

A Close Relationship That Biden Never Had

In public, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

Trump likes to say that Israel has no greater ally, and Netanyahu has described him as Israel's "most supportive friend in the US presidency". Moreover these positive statements have been backed up by actions.

Throughout his first presidential term, Trump moved the US embassy in the country from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and abandoned a long-held US position that Jewish communities in the Palestinian West Bank are illegal, the view under international law.

After the Israeli military began its bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic in the summer, Trump ordered American aircraft to target the nation's atomic sites with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those public demonstrations of support may have allowed Trump the room to apply more pressure on Israel behind the scenes. According to reports, Trump's envoy, his representative, browbeat Netanyahu in late 2024 into agreeing to a halt in fighting in return for the release of a number of captives.

When Israeli forces launched strikes against Syria's military in July, even hitting a place of worship, the US president urged his counterpart to change course.

The leader displayed a degree of determination and insistence on an Israel's leader that is rarely seen, says Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "It's unheard of of an US leader literally telling an Israeli leader that they must agree or else."

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

His administration's "close embrace approach" held that the United States had to support Israel openly in order to enable it to influence the nation's war conduct behind closed doors.

Beneath this was Biden's nearly half-century of support for Israel, as well as sharp divisions within his Democratic coalition over the conflict in Gaza. Each move the leader took endangered fracturing his own political backing, whereas his successor's loyal conservative voters provided him more room to act.

In the end, domestic politics 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 the Islamic Republic weakened, the militant group to its northern border greatly diminished and the coastal strip in ruins, all its key military goals had been achieved.

Commercial Background Helped Secure Gulf's Backing

An Israeli strike in Doha, which resulted in the death of a local national but not the intended targets, led the president to deliver an ultimatum to Netanyahu. The war had to end.

Trump had given the Israeli military a relatively free hand in the territory. The president lent American military might to Israel's campaign in the neighboring country. But an strike on Qatar soil was a different matter completely, pushing him towards the Arab position on how best to conclude the conflict.

A number of Trump officials have informed the press that this was a decisive moment which motivated the leader to apply maximum pressure to finalize an agreement.

The leader's close ties with the Gulf states are well documented. He has business dealings with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The president began each of his administrations with state visits to Saudi Arabia. Recently, he also visited in Doha and the UAE capital.

The president's Abraham Accords, which established ties between Israel and several Muslim states, including the Emirates, was the biggest foreign policy success of his initial presidency.

The time devoted in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula in recent months helped shift his perspective, says Ed Husain of the a policy institute. The US president did not travel to Israel on this regional tour but went to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar 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 the prime minister himself called Qatar to express regret. Subsequently, the Israeli leader gave approval on Trump's comprehensive proposal for Gaza - one that additionally had the support of key Muslim nations in the region.

Assuming Trump's alliance with his counterpart provided him the room to influence Israel to reach an agreement, his past with Arab rulers may have secured their support, and helped them convince the group to agree to the arrangement.

"A key factor that evidently occurred was that President Trump developed leverage with the Israeli government, and through intermediaries with Hamas," says an analyst of the a research center.

"That made a difference. His ability to do this on his own schedule, and not succumb to the demands of the combatants has been a challenge that many previous presidents have faced, and he seems to do relatively successfully."

The reality that Trump is far better liked in Israel than Netanyahu personally was an advantage that he used to his advantage, the expert continues.

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

Hamas will release all the remaining hostages, living and dead, captured in the initial October 7 Hamas attack, which resulted in the loss of over 1,200 Israelis.

A conclusion to the war, which has resulted in the devastation of Gaza and the deaths of more than 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal