Columbia University is likely to switch to hybrid mode of learning for the rest of the semester amid protests over Israel's war with Hamas that have erupted in colleges across the United States (US), officials announced.

As per a report by PTI, the Ivy League university's provost, Angela V Olinto, and chief operating officer, Cas Holloway, said in a statement on Monday, April 22, “Safety is our highest priority as we strive to support our students' learning and all the required academic operations.”

This comes after over 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators, who had camped out on Columbia University's upper Manhattan campus, were arrested last week.

Students have protested against the Israel-Hamas war and genocide in Gaza at many campuses in recent weeks, including at New York University (NYU), where an encampment swelled to hundreds of protesters and police began to make arrests on Monday night.

A police spokesperson said he did not know how many NYU protesters had been arrested, PTI added

NYU spokesperson John Beckman, on Tuesday, April 23, said that the university was carrying on with classes as usual.

Since the war began, colleges and universities nationwide have struggled to balance safety with free speech rights.

Many schools long tolerated protests but are now doling out more heavy-handed discipline.