US police in riot gear arrive on campuses

Police officers prepare to enter Columbia University campus in New York City. Pic/AFP

More than 100 people were arrested at Columbia University and City College of New York on Tuesday night, according to a law enforcement official, as protests against Israel's bombardment of Gaza intensified across college campuses in the US, CNN reported.

Police in riot gear entered Columbia University's Hamilton Hall and used flash bangs when breaching the building, in which pro-Palestinian protesters had barricaded themselves. Less than two hours after officers entered the school's campus in Morningside Heights, Columbia University's property was cleared.

Columbia has asked the NYPD to remain on campus until May 17, two days after its graduation ceremony, but protesters remain defiant. Columbia has been the epicenter, but protests have been roiling universities nationwide.

In Los Angeles, police in riot gear arrived on campus at UCLA, mayor Karen Bass said early on Wednesday. Before the deployment, pro-Palestinian protesters and Israel supporters were clashing at UCLA, according to multiple reports. The clashes took place early Wednesday just outside a tent encampment, where pro-Palestinian protesters erected barricades and plywood for protection, and counter-protesters tried to pull them down. The protesters shoved and kicked one another, sometimes beating people with sticks or throwing chairs.

Blinken in Israel to push cease-fire deal

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was meeting with Israeli leaders on Wednesday, telling the country's ceremonial president that "the time is now" for a cease-fire deal. Blinken has blamed Hamas for any delay is getting a deal off the ground. "We are determined to get a cease-fire that brings the hostages home and to get it now, and the only reason that that wouldn't be achieved is because of Hamas," he said. Blinken visited key regional leaders in Saudi Arabia and Jordan before arriving in Israel. He met President Isaac Herzog and is set to meet PM Benjamin Netanyahu later.

Children stand behind barbed-wire along a slope near a camp housing displaced Palestinians in Rafah. Pic/AFP

Hamas to mediators: Clarify cease-fire terms

Hamas has asked Egyptian and Qatari mediators to provide clarity on the terms of the latest cease-fire proposal being discussed as part of negotiations with Israel, an Egyptian official said on Wednesday. The official, who has close ties to the talks and spoke on condition of anonymity in order to freely discuss the deal, said Hamas wants clear terms for the unconditional return of displaced people to the north of Gaza and to ensure that the second stage of the deal will include discussing the gradual and complete withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the entire Gaza Strip. The official said the current deal didn't make things very clear.

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