Student-led protests against Israel’s war on Gaza have intensified across the United States, as House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested the National Guard be brought in and police in riot gear arrested dozens of young people at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and the University of Southern California (USC).
The arrests on Wednesday in cities of Austin and Los Angeles came as students at Harvard University and Brown University on the east coast also defied threats of action and set up encampments in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The movement, which began at Columbia University in New York last week, is calling on universities to cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies they say are enabling its brutal war in Gaza. At least 34,262 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the besieged enclave since October 7, when fighters from Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing 1,139 people and taking dozens of people captive.
The student-led protests against the war have been peaceful and largely respectful, but have been met by heavy-handed action from many universities amid allegations of anti-Semitism.

Al Jazeera’s correspondents are covering the protests from coast to coast. John Hendren is reporting from Columbia University in New York, and Rob Reynolds reports from the University of Southern California.

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