Israel’s security cabinet overnight Thursday approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to defeat Hamas, including taking control of Gaza City, after the Palestinian terror group torpedoed U.S.-mediated negotiations.

However, questions remain as to what the terrorist organization's endgame is, and if they can be fully defeated.

"Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. It is a radical jihadi organization with a written and spoken goal to annihilate the State of Israel and replace it with a Sharia-based regime," Jonathan Conricus, former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.

"They operate according to that aim and objective. Hamas’s October 7 terror attack was part of how they planned to fulfill that goal—defeating Israel, killing all the Jews, and taking control of the area.

NETANYAHU CONFIRMS ISRAEL WILL TAKE CONTROL OF GAZA TO ‘LIBERATE’ PEOPLE FROM HAMAS

"They are strategic, calculated, and extremely cynical—but definitely not suicidal," he added. "They may employ suicidal tactics, but their strategic aim is long-term and deliberate."

For example, Hamas’ "starvation" campaign generated significant international pressure on Israel, leading to steps such as the IDF announcing tactical pauses in fighting and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip in coordination with international partners.

In the span of a week late last month, the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada announced their intention to recognize a Palestinian state, which the Israeli government denounced as a reward for terror.

In a recent interview with Al Jazeera, senior Hamas terror leader Ghazi Hamad said, "The initiative by several countries to recognize a Palestinian state is one of the fruits of October 7."

Conricus said that such recognition has emboldened them. "They’ve hardened their negotiating stance and made it clear they don’t feel the need to compromise—which, of course, has a direct impact on the lives of the Israeli hostages."

U.S.-mediated negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire and the release of the 50 remaining captives have stalled, with Hamas showing increasing inflexibility, according to officials familiar with the talks.

Last month, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said Washington was weighing "alternative options" as Hamas "does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith."

NETANYAHU’S SECURITY CABINET TO MEET ON GAZA WAR, AS SOME IN ISRAEL CALL TO RESETTLE ENCLAVE

Palestinian affairs analyst Khaled Abu Toameh told Fox News Digital that Hamas’s position has been clear since the start of the war: to prevent Israel from achieving its objectives of removing the terror group from power and rescuing the hostages by force.

"It’s important for Hamas to be seen as emerging triumphant. They believe they’ve reached a point of no return.

"They know the international community will place the blame on Israel as the casualty toll rises. There is no pressure on Hamas to stop," he added.

At the end of the day, Abu Toameh said, Hamas’s long-term strategy is to ensure its continued existence so it can carry on its jihad against Israel.

"October 7 was just another phase in this jihad," he said. "It’s a jihad that began shortly after Hamas’s founding, when they unveiled their charter in 1988. The charter explicitly states that this land—the holy land, from the river to the sea—is Muslim-owned and will be liberated through jihad. It didn’t start with October 7, and it won’t end with October 7," Abu Toameh warned.

Experts say to understand the terror group is to simply look at its founding charter, which describes the "struggle against the Jews" as "very great and very serious," requiring "all sincere efforts." It calls the Palestinian terror group "one squadron" of a wider Arab and Islamic force that must continue fighting until "the enemy is vanquished and Allah’s victory is realized."

The mother of a congressional intern killed in a Washington D.C. drive-by delivered a heartbreaking plea on Thursday, condemning the city's crime surge while sharing the pain her family continues to endure.

"Our lives will never be the same, and my husband says he wished it was him who took the bullets for his son. This is how bad it is," said Tamara Tarpinian-Jachym, whose 21-year-old son Eric was shot multiple times on June 30 and died at a hospital the following day. 

"My husband says he wishes it was him who took the bullets for his son. That’s how bad it is."

In a gut-wrenching interview with "Fox & Friends First," Tamara described the moment she heard the news and her world shattered.

TRUMP PENS LETTER TO GRIEVING MOTHER OF SLAIN CONGRESSIONAL INTERN: 'HELD IN MY HEART'
 

"You don't expect to find out that your son gets brutally murdered, not with one gunshot wound, but riddled with them. And my son was a good boy, and he didn't deserve this. Nobody does. No innocent victim deserves what we're going through, and there's a lot of us out there," she said tearfully.

Eric was in Washington, D.C., serving as an intern for Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan., at the time of the incident. 

The shooting, which authorities say didn't target Eric, also left a 16-year-old male and an adult female injured.

Tamara told Fox News' Carley Shimkus that no suspects have yet been apprehended to her knowledge and that the 16-year-old male was allegedly the target.

She called on city officials to stop "coddl[ing]" criminals and adopt tough-on-crime policies that will prioritize the best interests of D.C.'s constituents, visitors and workers.

MOM OF CONGRESSIONAL INTERN MURDERED IN DC WARNS PARENTS IT COULD HAPPEN TO THEIR KIDS

President Donald Trump has threatened to address leadership lapses via a federal takeover of the nation's capital unless something changes.

Tamara, reacting to that prospect, said something needs to change for the better.

"Until this [D.C.] council can get their act together, which… maybe it will never happen, I don't know — but I believe that it should happen and they should work. And they should not put contingencies on any of this – the council. The crime needs to go away. These gangs need to go, and people will just keep getting assaulted and murdered…

"This is our nation's capital," she continued. "It should be the safest in the country and then everybody else, all the other states, should be following suit on how to make their city safe. It's really scary in America."

President Trump also sent a letter to the Tarpinian-Jachym family after the incident. Tamara said the gesture "meant a lot" to her, and that Rep. Estes' office has also been kind in the aftermath of the shooting.

Tamara described her son as an "old soul" who was "highly intelligent," "articulate" and "humble." 

She broke down in tears while describing how much he meant to her and her husband.

"[Eric] liked to talk to older people. He'd help them. He liked to fish. That was his thing. He loved his father so much. Those two were inseparable. He was my baby. I had him late in life. He was a gift from God, and his brother and sister miss him. They helped raise him. My husband is so distraught. Our lives will never be the same."

Fox News' Adam Sabes contributed to this report.