At the time, Israel's air strike against the Hamas negotiating team in Qatar seemed like yet another escalation that pushed the prospect of peace further away.
The attack on 9 September violated the sovereignty of an American ally and risked expanding the conflict into a region-wide war.
Diplomacy appeared to be in ruins.
Instead it turned out to be a key moment that has led to a deal, announced by President Donald Trump, to release all remaining hostages.
This is a goal that he, and President Joe Biden before him, had sought for nearly two years.
It is just the first step towards a more durable peace, and the details of Hamas disarmament, Gaza governance and full Israeli withdrawal remain to be negotiated.
But if this agreement holds, it could be Trump's signature achievement of his second term - one that eluded Biden and his diplomatic team.
Trump's unique style and crucial relationships with Israel and the Arab world appear to have contributed to this breakthrough.
In public, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.
Trump likes to say that Israel has no better friend, and Netanyahu has described Trump as Israel's greatest ever ally in the White House.
Trump's relationship with Netanyahu allowed him more room to pressure Israel behind the scenes.
As Israel took military control of the food supply to Palestinians, several major European countries, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, decided they couldn't stay aligned with Washington's position of unequivocal support for Israel.
Under a French-Saudi peace plan, Arab countries also issued an unprecedented condemnation of Hamas' October 7 attacks and called for the group to end its rule on Gaza.
If Trump's relationship with Netanyahu gave him the room to pressure Israel, his history with Muslim leaders may have secured their support and helped them convince Hamas to commit to the deal.
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