Protesters at some US universities have been clashing with police, as demonstrations over the conflict in Gaza continue.

Clashes between police and protesters have erupted at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), while overnight, police said they cleared a building at Columbia University in New York, which had been occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Here are the latest developments:

• Speaking at a news conference earlier, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said approximately 300 arrests were made at Columbia University and the City College of New York last night after police officers raided the campuses

• Police say the response at Columbia was to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters who'd taken over Hamilton Hall, a building on campus
• Adams says external actors were responsible for creating what he described as "a movement to radicalise young people”
• Police commissioner Edward Caban said the universities "worked for weeks" to negotiate with protesters, but that "public safety was a real concern"
• A student at Columbia University told the BBC that the police were "rough and aggressive" with demonstrators
• Meanwhile, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, police arrested about dozen protesters on Wednesday morning
• There remains a large police presence at the UCLA

Stay with us for more.

Phil McCausland
Reporting outside Columbia University

Meghnad Bose, a 31-year-old journalism graduate student at Columbia University, reported on the New York Police Department's (NYPD) raid on campus as a student journalist last night.

He says police forced him and other journalists to the edge of campus while the arrests were underway.

Bose says the officers were “rough and aggressive” with the protesters.

He says he knew one protester who was released from police custody at 07:00 local time (12:00 BST).

The student protesters have been largely peaceful, Bose adds, saying he didn’t believe that police’s behaviour was necessary.

“Yesterday, the NYPD just seemed far more aggressive in the manner in which it was dispersing protesters, moving them away,” he says.

Earlier at a news conference, we heard from police commissioner Edward Caban, who said officers intervened because "public safety was a real concern".

"The NYPD was called in to do their job," he added.

Police clashed with protesters at another college campus on Wednesday morning - this time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Officers removed an encampment outside the university library and took several protesters into custody. Local media outlets report at least 10 protesters were taken away by police.

Watch more below:

Phil McCausland
Reporting outside Columbia University

A few Columbia students who live on campus appear to be removing their possessions from university housing with the help of parents.

All have declined interviews.

The school has gone fully remote, and it will retain NYPD officers on campus until 17 May. Students who do not live on campus are currently being turned away at the only entrance that is open.

That's all for the police press conference. You can catch up with some of the remarks by New York Mayor Eric Adams by playing the video above.

He said police were called by the university as a result of a break-in at Hamilton Hall that was led by "individuals who are not affiliated with the university".

Chief Jeffrey Maddrey closes the press conference by saying officers will "make a determination" regarding the police presence on the Columbia campus, with issues including public safety in mind.

We'll be wrapping up some of the key lines from the news conference here, so stay with us.

Weiner says now that the police are in the process of going through the data collected last night to see who was affiliated with the university and who wasn't.

She says this operation wasn't about stopping free speech. Instead, she says it was about tackling the "normalisation and mainstreaming of rhetoric associated with terrorism that has now become pretty common on college campuses."

She says the police want to prevent college campuses being turned into places where people are committing vandalism and other crimes.

We're hearing journalists ask the panel questions now.

One reporters asks how many of those arrested inside and outside Hamilton Hall were "outside agitators" and not affiliated with the university.

John Chell, chief of patrol, says there were 282 arrests - 173 from City College and 119 from Columbia. They haven't broken down the numbers enough yet to be able to fully answer the question, he adds.

Earlier, we heard commissioner Edward Caban say approximately 300 people were arrested.

When asked for more detail about the individuals arrested, Rebecca Weiner, a deputy commissioner for the New York Police Department, says some people were known to the authorities as they have been associated with previous protests in New York and in other cities.

She says these individuals have been linked to "training" around a change in tactics.

Commissioner Edward Caban is speaking now.

He says the situation at Columbia deteriorated to the point where the public, staff and students were at risk.

Approximately 300 arrests were made, he confirms, adding that the preliminary charges include trespass, criminal mischief and burglary.

He says they will now let the justice system play out.

Once it became clear public safety was a concern, the New York police were called “to do their job”.

He says they "tried to lock us out" but the people of New York will never be locked out and will work together to keep the city safe.

Adams speaks now about importance of free speech.

"Students have a right to protest," he says, adding free speech is "the cornerstone of our society".

He says some weren't concerned about this - they were instead interested in "chaos"

"There's nothing peaceful about barricading buildings, destroying property or dismantling security cameras," he adds.

Adams says those who broke into the building did include students, but that this was led by people not affiliated with the university.

The police conducted a dual operation to clear tents and take back Hamilton Hall, he says.

More now from Adams.

He says after Columbia acknowledged that there were “outside agitators" their grounds, “training” and "co-opting" the protest movement.

He says at Columbia's request, the police conducted their operation to remove those who were disrupting a peaceful protest.

He adds that antisemitism and anti-Israel attitudes were "pervasive" and stresses the activists were not there "to peacefully protest, but trying to create chaos".

He says approximately 300 people were arrested during protests at New York universities last night.

Eric Adams, New York city mayor, is speaking now.

He says although a “massive operation” took place at Columbia, police were also balancing other jobs.

“We also had the city to protect,” he adds.

There are a multitude of things that happen in a city of New York’s magnitude, Adams says.

He goes on to say that there is a movement to “radicalise young people,” calling it a “global problem”.

“I’m not going to allow that to happen,” Adams says.

They're under way now, after a delay.

Don't forget you can stream live by pressing the Play button at the top of this page.

Phil McCausland
Reporting outside Columbia University

While we wait for the press conference, let me tell you about the scene in this part of New York this morning.

The streets around Columbia University are relatively quiet after last night's police raid. There are the usual rhythms of commuters making their way to work or school.

The only hiccup for New Yorkers’ typical morning routine is the labyrinth of steel barricades on Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues, the notable presence of police and private security at every campus entrance, and the camera crews roaming the university's perimeter.

There's a queue to enter the campus itself. Security had tightened and there's only one entrance for students, faculty and staff.

Some have been turned away by the guards if they are deemed “not essential”. The entrance is on Amsterdam Avenue, right next to Hamilton Hall - the building protesters occupied yesterday.

Police in New York City are due to offer updates on last night's raid at Columbia University soon - stay with us and we'll bring you updates.

You'll also be able to stream it live by pressing the Play button at the top of this page.

Image source, Getty Images

Pro-Palestinian campus groups have for years called on their institutions to support the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, as a means of pushing back against Israel.

No US university has ever committed to the BDS framework, although some have cut specific financial ties in the past.

While divestment would have a negligible impact, if any, on the war in Gaza, protesters say it would shed light on those who profit from war and help build awareness of their issue.

Meanwhile, activists at Columbia and elsewhere have highlighted the protests at the end of the 1960s against US involvement in the Vietnam War.

Thousands were arrested and there were violent clashes with police.

Four students in Ohio were killed in 1970 when the National Guard opened fire.

Their deaths triggered a nationwide student strike and hundreds of universities closed.

• You can read more here

Regan Morris
Reporting from UCLA

There’s a large police presence at UCLA now and a handful of protesters outside the camp cordon. Both sides are fortifying their space - police setting up metal barricades and protesters setting up wooden boards and protest signs.

It’s difficult to see into the camp now - police are keeping us about a 100ft back (30m), and protesters won’t allow access from back entrances.

After clashes overnight, it’s relatively quiet. Some protesters outside the cordon said the students inside the camp sprayed them with bear spray overnight.

In between the police and protesters is a large screen showing pictures of the people kidnapped by Hamas in the attack on southern Israel on 7 October, which prompted Israel's military operation in Gaza.

Image source, AFP

Similar demonstrations to the one seen at Columbia have sprung up across the country, including:

• Northeast region: George Washington; Brown; Yale; Harvard; Emerson; NYU; Georgetown; American; University of Maryland; Johns Hopkins; Tufts; Cornell; University of Pennsylvania; Princeton; Temple; Northeastern; MIT; The New School; University of Rochester; University of Pittsburgh
• West Coast: California State Polytechnic, Humboldt; University of Southern California; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Berkeley; University of Washington
• Midwest region: Northwestern; Washington University in St Louis; Indiana University; University of Michigan; Ohio State; University of Minnesota; Miami University; University of Ohio; Columbia College Chicago; University of Chicago
• The South: Emory; Vanderbilt; University of North Carolina, Charlotte; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Kennesaw State; Florida State; Virginia Tech; University of Georgia, Athens
• Southwest: University of Texas at Austin; Rice; Arizona State

Pro-Palestinian protesters have also gathered over the past week on university campuses in Australia, Canada, France, Italy and the UK.

That update from Nomia comes after hundreds of police officers raided Columbia University overnight, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters who'd taken over a building on campus, Hamilton Hall.

The image below shows the location of the hall - as well as the lawn, where activists had camped out.

Arrests were reported, although police haven't yet said how many. The university had earlier told students involved in the protests to leave or face expulsion.

Image source, .

Nomia Iqbal
Reporting from Columbia University

In contrast to what’s happening on the other side of the country, it’s now eerily quiet at Columbia University.

Today we’ll see what the aftermath brings. Already there are are letters being sent to Columbia University's president, Minouche Shafik, by some professors accusing the university of brutal tactics against students.

Many students had pointed to the university’s history of protesting - in 1968 and 1985 when it came to the Vietnam War, civil rights and apartheid in South Africa. One student said the university now lionises those images, and accused the institution of hypocrisy.

For some they may feel history could vindicate them. For the university, students breaking and entering into buildings was a red line. They also wanted the campus to get “back under their control” for graduation day which is just two weeks away.