Manhattan turns into a tinderbox as hundreds of furious students face off with cops outside City College with flares hurled at police and pro-Palestine protesters tear gassed

Manhattan is in chaos as hundreds of police officers stormed universities in a coordinated strike to clear out pro-Palestinian protesters who refused to leave.

Protesters threw flares and barricaded themselves inside an administrative building at the City University of New York, about 20 blocks north of Columbia University.

NYPD officers moved in after 9.30pm to disperse the crowds as flares turned the college's famous arch red and protestors chanted and waved flags in support of Gaza.

Other videos showed the protesters using drills to fasten pieces of wood together to create a makeshift barriers as police appeared ready to move in.

Police did not enter the CCNY campus and the tent encampment remained in place, though there were rumors it would be cleared on Wednesday.

This prompted hundreds of other protesters to arrive and try to force their way inside the university, where police had erected a barricade to stop them getting in.

Police earlier cleared out protesters at Columbia University after weeks of a tent encampment protest escalated when a group took over Hamilton Hall.

Columbia, which was the epicenter for the anti-Israel encampments that have spread across the US, saw hundreds of cops flood the Ivy League campus and dozens arrested to stop the encampment.

Many protesters chose to Columbia leave as police surrounded the campus instead of being arrested, and walked north to CCNY to join the protest there.

This spawned a separate protest outside the gate and across the street, which police dispersed and made dozens of arrests.

Videos posted on social media showed skirmishes between the protestors and police as arrests were made. 

One video showed a protester bashing police over the head with an empty five-gallon water jug with a sticker that read 'Israel is committing genocide in Gaza'.

Police used pepper spray on protesters, with at least one journalist seen on video being caught in the crossfire.

'WE WILL NOT STOP WE WILL NOT REST,' the CUNY Gaza Solidarity Encampment posted on X along with video of protestors with flares climbing a fence on the campus. 

'As our encampments are being raided by NYPD SRG with brutal force, all we can think about at this time is our brothers and sisters facing imminent invasions in Rafah- ALL OUT TO CCNY AND ALL EYES ON PALESTINE,' the account tweeted. 

the tent encampment was set up on Friday and, like Columbia's, demanded CCNY divest from companies that did business with Israel.

'CUNY Gaza Solidarity Encampment in full bloom. Lots of faculty and PSC union members here,' CUNY professor James Hoff wrote on Twitter with a photo of the tent city.

CCNY earlier in the day announced that all classes would be moved online until further notice.

President Vince Boudreau wrote in a letter to staff and students that the university respected the right to protest and the values of academic and speech freedom, but this was tested by the Hamas attack on Israel and the invasion of Gaza that followed.

He said it tried to reconcile tensions between free speech and safety, but that the encampment posed additional problems as many of the protesters were not part of CCNY.

'This demonstration has been more contentious and violent than anything we've seen on campus before,' he wrote.

The university sent a letter to members of the encampment warning them of the dangers and instructing them to dismantle it.

'We are also urging all members of our community to stay away from campus,' Boudreau said.

'This is obviously a wrenching moment for the CCNY community and for me personally. I know that you join me in the fervent hope that this encampment can be brought to a peaceful solution.'

NYU did not have any police involvement, but protesters threw fake blood outside the home of its president, Linda Mills, on Tuesday.

The attack was not done by students, but 'by external community members in solidarity with NYU students'.

'Linda Mills: Your administration is complicit in genocide. Blood on your hands. Long live Gaza,' they said. 

Clashes outside of CCNY were part of a wider NYPD effort to deal with encampments at college campuses across the city, at the request of the universities.

The protests started on April 17 at Columbia, as students demanded the Ivy League university divest from companies that do business with Israel. 

The protests carried on despite university threats of suspensions and expulsion. Early Tuesday morning, Columbia students violently took over a university building. 

By the evening, Columbia leaders asked the NYPD to come in and clear out the protestors. 

Around 9pm, officers stormed the university as the crowd chanted and yelled at them, some confronted the officers and pushed barricades to try and block their path.

A shelter in place warning was issued to students on Morningside campus in the moments before officers descended.

In a statement, the university said the decision to call in police was, 'made to restore safety and order to our community'. 

'We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions,' the statement read.

After the University learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized, and blockaded, we were left with no choice.

'Columbia public safety personnel were forced out of the building, and a member of our facilities team was threatened. We will not risk the safety of our community or the potential for further escalation.'