Sirens wailed across Israel on the annual Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Day, commemorating the six million Jews murdered during World War II.

On Thursday morning, pedestrians came to a halt, and automobiles came to a halt to exit their vehicles as people bowed their heads in commemoration of the victims of the Nazi atrocities.

Throughout the day, ceremonies were planned at Israel's national Holocaust memorial, parliament, and other locations.

Israel was established in 1948 as a haven for survivors of the Holocaust. In Israel, approximately 165,000 survivors live, a dwindling population that is widely respected but struggles with poverty.

'Do not compare the Holocaust to other historical events'

Inaugurating Holocaust Memorial Day at Israel's memorial, Yad Vashem, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett urged the world to cease comparing the Holocaust to other historical tragedies. He spoke after Ukraine's and Russia's presidents drew parallels between their ongoing conflict and the Holocaust during World War II.

"As the years pass, there is an increasing amount of discourse in the world comparing other traumatic events to the Holocaust. However," Bennett stated.

"No event in history, however heinous, comes close to the Nazis' and their collaborators' extermination of Europe's Jews."

Israel makes a concerted effort to commemorate the Holocaust victims and elevate those who survived to hero status. On Holocaust Memorial Day, restaurants and places of entertainment are closed, radio stations play solemn music, and television stations devote their programming to Holocaust documentaries and another Holocaust-related programming.

One-third of survivors are impoverished.

For them, difficulties loom. This year's ceremony takes place while Israel and a large portion of the rest of the world recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed Holocaust survivors to more significant health risks and widespread loneliness and sorrow.

Additionally, according to a survivors group, almost one-third of Israel's Holocaust survivors live below the poverty line, with many surviving solely on government stipends and donations.

Despite their knowledge and extensive teaching initiatives, antisemitism increased globally throughout the pandemic; Wednesday found a report.

Along with statements from Bennett and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Wednesday's ceremony saw survivors ignite six torches - one for each of the six million people murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. Baerbel Bas, Germany's parliament speaker, was also a unique visitor.