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. But, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also factors at play beyond the control of either man.
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. During his first presidential term, Trump moved the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and abandoned a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank are illegal.
When Israel began its air strikes against Iran in June, Trump ordered US bombers to target the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its most powerful conventional bombs.
According to reports, Trump's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, browbeat Netanyahu in late 2024 into accepting a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of some hostages. Trump exerted pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is virtually unprecedented.
Biden's relationship with Netanyahu's government was always more tenuous. His administration's strategy held that the US had to embrace Israel publicly to allow it to moderate the nation's war conduct in private. Every step Biden took risked fracturing his own domestic support.
In the end, Trump's ability to develop leverage with the Israelis and indirectly with Hamas, as well as his close ties with the Gulf states, played critical roles in negotiating this deal. The unique dynamics, strategies, and relationships have made this achievement a remarkable chapter in the ongoing saga of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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. But, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also factors at play beyond the control of either man.
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. During his first presidential term, Trump moved the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and abandoned a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank are illegal.
When Israel began its air strikes against Iran in June, Trump ordered US bombers to target the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its most powerful conventional bombs.
According to reports, Trump's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, browbeat Netanyahu in late 2024 into accepting a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of some hostages. Trump exerted pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is virtually unprecedented.
Biden's relationship with Netanyahu's government was always more tenuous. His administration's strategy held that the US had to embrace Israel publicly to allow it to moderate the nation's war conduct in private. Every step Biden took risked fracturing his own domestic support.
In the end, Trump's ability to develop leverage with the Israelis and indirectly with Hamas, as well as his close ties with the Gulf states, played critical roles in negotiating this deal. The unique dynamics, strategies, and relationships have made this achievement a remarkable chapter in the ongoing saga of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
