An audience member on BBC Question Time compared Israel’s efforts to defeat Hamas to the Holocaust in an incident that has provoked outrage among British Jews.

During Thursday night’s episode of the panel show, a man in the crowd questioned whether the killing of the terrorist group’s members was “a little bit like the final solution”.

“I’d like to know how many Palestinians need to be killed to justify the number of people being killed in the kibbutz,” he said.

“And the other point I would like to make - there is a constant talk about we are going to clear Hamas out of the country and clear them all together. Isn’t this a little bit like the final solution?”

The comments appeared to visibly shock BBC presenter Fiona Bruce, who replied: “Well, that’s quite a thing to say.”

The moment immediately prompted outrage on social media, with the head of the Holocaust Educational Trust criticising the comments as “ignorant” and “deeply offensive”.

Karen Pollock, the organisation’s chief executive, wrote on Twitter: “Did the audience member @‌bbcquestiontime actually compare efforts to defeat Hamas terrorists to The Final Solution?? I’m in shock.

“I had to rewatch this to be sure I hadn’t misheard. I hadn’t.

“This is an outrageous, ignorant and deeply offensive comment to make.”

The audience member’s question was put to Marie van der Zyl, the President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, whose response prompted laughter from some of those in the crowd.

She said the situation in the Middle East was “absolutely not” like the final solution, adding: “Hamas are terrorists, Hamas are like Isis, and I’m sure in this country - and Israel is a country the size of Wales - if 1,400 people were brutally murdered and beheaded I’m sure that you would want to know that action was going to be taken.”

Ms van der Zyl said Israel “isn’t at war with the people of Gaza or Palestinians”, but Hamas.

She asserted that Israel was “not an apartheid state”, causing some members of the audience to laugh and shake their heads.

“All of its citizens, whether they’re Arab citizens or Israeli citizens, all have equal rights under Israeli law and if anybody in the Middle East wanted, for example, to be gay that would be the country to be in,” she added. “You might laugh but Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.”

The BBC has received sustained criticism over its coverage of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, including its refusal to call Hamas terrorists. The corporation has received hundreds of complaints from the public over its reporting of the conflict.