Radiohead singer Thom Yorke briefly walked offstage after being heckled by a pro-Palestine protester during a show on his Australian solo tour on Wednesday night.

Footage filmed by an audience member of the concert in Melbourne captured a man shouting about the “Israeli genocide in Gaza”. He then refers to the death toll, stating “half of them were children”.

Yorke, who is the lead singer of the band, is seen to respond by encouraging the heckler to join him on stage, calling him a coward.

“Come up here and say that right now. Right here, come on,” he said.

“Hop up on the f****** stage and say what you want to say. Don’t stand there like a coward, come here and say it. You want to p*** on everybody’s night?”

The protester retorts: “How many dead children will it take for you to condemn the genocide in Gaza?”

Video footage captured frustrated fans screaming “shut the f*** up” while others boo the heckler.

Yorke then said: “OK, you do it, see you later then.” He removed his guitar and proceeded to walk off stage.

A few minutes later, Yorke returned to the stage to loud cheers, and performed his final song of the night, Radiohead’s 1997 song Karma Police.

Audience member Elly Brus told the BBC that the protester did not have the support of the crowd.

“He was escorted away by security. He then continued to engage with people outside the venue as well,” she said.

The concert took place at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, one of two being held in Melbourne as part of Yorke’s Everything tour. The set featured songs from his solo material as well as hits from Radiohead and the Smile.

The band has faced pressure from pro-Palestine activists in the past to boycott Israel and to cancel its shows in the country.

In 2017, Radiohead defied a call from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement not to play Israel.

In a statement on his X/Twitter, Yorke defended the band’s decision to perform in the country, resisting pressure from pro-Palestine activists and public criticism from figures like British director Ken Loach.

“Playing in a country isn't the same as endorsing its government,” the singer wrote.

“We've played in Israel for over 20 years through a succession of governments, some more liberal than others.

“We don't endorse [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America. Music, art and academia is about crossing borders not building them.”

In June, Jonny Greenwood, the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the band, was accused of “artwashing genocide” for his ongoing work with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa.

In a statement on X/Twitter, Greenwood told his followers that he would not take part in the silencing of Israeli Jews and that boycotting the country’s artists “feels unprogressive”.

“No art is as 'important' as stopping all the death and suffering around us,” he said. “But… silencing Israeli artists for being born Jewish in Israel doesn't seem like any way to reach an understanding between the two sides of this apparently endless conflict."