GAZA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The Hamas chief in Gaza said on Wednesday that the mass protests along the eastern border of the coastal enclave will escalate in the coming few days.

Yehya Sinwar made the comments during his meeting with dozens of young Gazans and the leaders of the anti-Israel protests starting March 30.

The six-week protest in Gaza, known as the "Great March of Return," is expected to peak on May 15, the day after the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence but marked by the Palestinians as the Nakba Day, or "Day of the Catastrophe," and the scheduled relocation of the U.S. embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to the disputed holy city of Jerusalem.

The Palestinians "are not going to give up our stable merits and our Jerusalem, even if we pay millions of martyrs," Sinwar said during the meeting along with leaders of Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

"Our marches will go on until we end the siege and the humiliation imposed on the Gaza Strip," he added.