Israeli actress Gal Gadot is at the centre of a social media storm after the publication of an image showing her wearing a dress from Lebanese designer Elie Saab.

A state of war, dating back to 1948, is still officially in force between the two nations.

Instagram users were very vocal in their criticism, leading Saab to take down the post.

Elie Saab dresses #Zionist IDF soldier Gal Gadot, then posts about it, then deletes the post because people started to spit on him. @ElieSaabWorld Shameful. pic.twitter.com/tRcWPQGm4A

— Mona Issa (@MonaIssa961) January 10, 2018

Gadot wore the dress to the National Board of Review awards in New York on Tuesday, when she and director Patty Jenkins were presented with the Spotlight Award for their work on hit superhero film Wonder Woman. The film was banned in Lebanon.

Gadot has not directly commented on the furore, merely posting a tweet expressing her delight at having received the award.

Thank you #NBR for the wonderful night and for honoring Patty and I with the spotlight award. #WonderWoman pic.twitter.com/pF9VpV1MAT

— Gal Gadot (@GalGadot) January 10, 2018