
Israel came to a standstill on Thursday morning with a two-minute siren wailing across the country in remembrance of the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

Pedestrians stopped in their tracks, buses came to a halt on busy streets and cars pulled over on major roads so drivers could get out and bow their heads in respect.

In homes and businesses, people stopped what they were doing to pay homage to the victims of the Nazi genocide which saw a third of the world's Jews wiped out.

Jews from around the world remembered the victims, including at the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.

A Jewish man drops his belongings and closes his eyes on a busy street in central Jerusalem as the country came to a halt for two minutes to remember those killed in the Holocaust

Wooden signs with the names of victims of the Holocaust are placed on the infamous train tracks at Auschwitz (left) and others walk through the barbed wire fence of the death camp carrying Israeli flags (right)

Young Jews from around the world are draped in Israeli flags in the former Nazi German death camp at Auschwitz during the annual Holocaust remembrance event, the 'March of the Living' in memory of the six million Holocaust victims

A girl prays within the fences of Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland as young Jews from around the world gathered for the remembrance

Motorists get out of their cars and stand in silence in the middle of the road in Tel Aviv to honour six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust

Drivers pull over onto the hard shoulder and hang their heads as Israel comes to a complete standstill to mourn the victims

Israeli soldier Shira Tessler holds the hand of her grandmother, Holocaust survivor Hanna Tessler, during a ceremony in Jerusalem

A couple console one another as they stop in their travels in central Jerusalem and stay silent for two minutes in an act of commemoration

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lays a wreath during a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day at Yard Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem

The Prime Minister with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin (left) and former Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat (right) during the ceremony marking the annual remembrance Day

Alex Reznik, an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor, stands still at his home as a two-minute siren marking the annual remembrance day rings out across the nation

A wreath-laying ceremony at the Yad Vashem memorial followed, with Israeli leaders and Holocaust survivors in attendance. Other ceremonies, prayers and musical performances took place in schools, community centres and army bases around the country.

The names of those who died in the genocide are typically read aloud in parliament throughout the day.

The annual remembrance is one of the most solemn on Israel's calendar. Restaurants, cafes and places of entertainment shut down, and radio and TV programming are dedicated almost exclusively to documentaries about the Holocaust, interviews with survivors and sombre music. The Israeli flag is also flown at half-mast.

The Holocaust runs deep in Israeli public consciousness. The state was established in 1948, three years after the genocide ended with the conclusion of the Second World War, as a place of refuge for Jews across the world.

People stop and stand in silence on a street in central Jerusalem on a day of mourning that sees shops and restaurants in the country close and TV and radio dedicated almost exclusively to programming about the Holocaust

A police officer looks deep in thought as sirens wailed across the country. A woman in front hangs her head as she remembers the genocide victims

Israelis stand next to their cars as sirens mark a nationwide moment of silence in remembrance of the 6m Jewish victims

Drivers stop and get out of their vehicles to stand in silence on a motorway in Tel Aviv on a day of national mourning

Visitors to the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Centre and Israeli soldiers stand with their heads bowed to pay homage to the victims of the Nazi genocide

Israeli and Russian World War II veterans salute as a two-minute siren being heard throughout the country during a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem

A cyclist parks his bike and stands in silence on the Mediterranean sea beach front in Tel Aviv as the two-minute siren sounds

A beachgoer on his way to bin litter stops in his tracks and bows his head on a sandy beach in Ashdod

Holocaust survivor Esther Dvora Rair Mosel speaks during a gathering near Kisalon as Israel marks the annual Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Day in Kisalon near Jerusalem

A beachgoer stands still as a two-minute siren marking the annual Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Day is heard by the waterfront in Ashdod

Hundreds of thousands of Holocaust survivors who lost their families fled there and made it their home.

According to the Hebrew calendar, Holocaust Remembrance Day marks the anniversary of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto uprising - the most significant, yet doomed, act of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust that helped shape Israel's national psyche, symbolising strength and the struggle for freedom.

The commemoration began on Wednesday night with a state ceremony at the national Holocaust memorial in which leaders voiced concerns about a rising tide of anti-Semitism worldwide.

President Reuven Rivlin touched on surging anti-Semitism in Europe, which he said 'is once again rearing its head, fuelled by waves of immigration, economic crises and disillusionment with the political establishment'.

Israelis stop and hang their heads in silence in Tel Aviv on a day that is deeply rooted in Israeli culture. Hundreds of thousands of Holocaust survivors who lost their families fled to the country and made it their home

Families stand still as a two-minute siren marking the annual Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Day is heard in at the Yad Vashem centre

People stand in silence, some with their heads bowed, as a two-minute siren marking the annual Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Day is heard in at the Yad Vashem memorial

A Holocaust survivor and her family visit the Hall of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem

Wreaths are seen on plastic chairs before the beginning of a ceremony at the Yad Vashem memorial site

Israeli soldiers bear arms and stand at attention during a ceremony marking the annual remembrance day at Yad Vashem

Drivers stop and get out of their cars to stand in silence on a street in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv

Motorists pull over on the hard shoulder on motorway in Tel Aviv to commemorate the lives of the Holocaust Victims

Israeli soldiers and other visitors stand at the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem with wreaths of flowers

In veiled criticism of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he urged the government to rethink its alliances with nationalist parties in Europe who have anti-Semitic pasts.

The President also stressed the continued threat of anti-Semitic extremism. He said that the extreme right, extreme left and radical Islam agree on 'one thing: their hatred of Jews'.