A total of 69 protesters attending a pro-Palestine protest on Arizona State University's Tempe campus, the main campus of the public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area, were arrested on Saturday for "violating university policy."

The protesters were arrested early on Saturday "for trespassing after they set up an unauthorized encampment, in violation of university policy," said a statement released by the university.

Demonstrations against Israeli military action in Gaza are spreading on major university campuses across United States with hundreds arrested, as the protracted conflict in Gaza has become a humanitarian catastrophe.

On Saturday, at least 22 Palestinians were killed and several others injured due to Israeli airstrikes on central and southern Gaza, according to Palestinian sources.