Daughter Reflects on Late Palestinian Father's Dream for Peace in Gaza: 'Hamas Destroyed That Dream' (Exclusive)

Yasmine Mohammed still remembers her grandparents teaching her about Palestinian music and cooking.

"They wanted to hold onto the Palestinian heritage," Mohammed tells PEOPLE, recalling her childhood. "They felt like it was slipping away so they tried to pass on their traditions to me."

Mohammed's grandparents are from Gaza, a tiny Palestinian exclave located on the Mediterranean Sea and hemmed in by Israel and Egypt. Gaza is one of two Palestinian territories. The other is the West Bank, which Israel claims. Gaza is one of the most densely populated places in the world, with 2.1 million people. Approximately half are children.

Mohammed's father was also born and raised in Gaza. He lived there until he was 18 years old, when he left to go to University in Egypt. "He proud to be from Gaza and Palestinian," she says. "It was a huge part of his life. Although he didn't go back to Gaza except every few years, it was all Gaza all the time. He wanted to see it be successful."

Amidst the recent attacks, Mohammed — now a human rights activist who runs a nonprofit organization called Free Hearts, Free Minds — reflects on the memories her dad shared growing up on the land. She also reflects on the dream he shared, like many other Palestinians, of peace — a dream she says has now been destroyed by Hamas. Below, her story.

All my dad ever talked about was rewinding the clock. He wanted to take Gaza back to how it was before the terrorists overtook the land. He had a Youtube channel and Facebook page where he shared videos and pictures from times when things were good. He would tell me about what it used to be like – his olive groves and the beaches.

What my dad loved the most about Gaza was that even if it had been a few years since he'd been home, the minute he'd go back everything would be the same. The same families would be there, having the same discussions. He wanted the comfort of being a part of this community for me. I never went to Gaza. I never wanted to.

My dad always wished that the people of Gaza could fight back against Hamas. It was frustrating for him. He couldn't just say, "Well they're extremists and that's horrible and I want nothing to do with them." It was, and still is, dangerous. Anything bad you'd say, they'd come after you. They'd come after your family.

The people that spoke out against Hamas would be ostracized. They would be told they weren't Arab or a real Muslim. That they should be killed. That they were a Zionist, or a Jew. Yes, my dad didn't always agree with the Israeli government but he didn't have a hate for Jewish people.

I'm lucky to have been born in Vancouver, Canada. My parents moved here after meeting in Egypt. I knew my grandparents because they would come and visit often. They'd come back with stories of Gaza. They'd go back and forth to Gaza a lot more often than my dad did because we lived so far away. But even here it was dangerous for him to speak out.

Despite everything, my dad always prayed for peace for Gaza and the Palestinian people. He believed in a two-state solution. My dad didn't blame Israel or Jewish people for Palestinians' pain. He blamed Hamas for the demise of his homeland. It's a relief for me that my dad died before these attacks happened last week. Now, there is no hope. Hamas has destroyed that dream.

I never paid attention to Gaza the way my dad did. After these attacks I thought of him. I thought of how heartbroken he'd be. I wanted to speak up for the people that are like my dad. I want to remind them that there are good people in Gaza and Israel. People are not their government.

My dad felt there were a lot of wasted opportunities. He was mad at the decision-makers and leaders. He knew there were so many opportunities to make peace with Israel — so many opportunities to get their land to flourish and have the Palestinian people thrive. He constantly thought to himself: "How could people have messed this up?"

I grew up hearing different things about the conflict from my mom. She was very religious. She blamed everything on the Jews. She taught me that they were evil. That they were bad. That their number one goal was to make Palestinians suffer. She had a similar mindset to Hamas.

I no longer speak with my mom. The last time we talked was in 2004. When I was 19, she married me off to a member of Al-Qaeda. After I left the Muslim community, she told me she'd have me killed. Since then I've struggled with figuring out what being culturally Palestinian means to me.

It's so frustrating how polarized everyone's become in the world after the attacks. Everybody's just extreme in all different directions. But people want black and white. They want good and bad. It's sad to see how quickly people lose touch with their humanity. People died. Children were burned. Families were taken hostage. Every day the number of deaths grows — on both sides.

It's not just rhetoric people are saying, it's their actions. To see people calling Hamas freedom fighters — after everything they've done — is an insult to Palestinian people.