Pro-Palestinian university protests in Europe have resumed with renewed vigour as Israel launches a ground assault on Rafah after rejecting a ceasefire proposal that had been accepted by Hamas.

At Berlin’s Freie Universität in Germany on Tuesday, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters occupied a courtyard. The protesters set up tents and formed a human chain, chanting slogans such as “Viva, Viva Palestina”.

Police carried some protesters away, some of them with a struggle.

Earlier in the morning, at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, police arrested 125 activists and broke up a pro-Palestinian demonstration camp.

Students had set up a tent on Monday night, calling on the university to cut all ties with Israel.

The following morning, scuffles broke out between protesters and the police.

Similar protests were seen at the University of Vienna, where around 100 people set up a pro-Palestine protest camp on Monday night.

The University of Vienna and the Austrian Ministry of Education distanced themselves from the action.

In recent days, students have held protests or set up encampments in Finland, Denmark, Italy, Spain, France and Britain following earlier protests in the US.

Police have been called in by city authorities to shut down protests at Columbia University in New York and elsewhere, sparking a furious nationwide debate over the limits of the right to protest.