Israel paused to remember the six million Jews killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust, bringing the country to a standstill.

The official state ceremony, themed “Out of the Depths: The Pain of Liberation and Growth,” was held Wednesday night, overshadowed by the October 7th attack, the ongoing conflict with Hamas, and the captivity of 59 individuals, including Americans, by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu connected the Holocaust to current threats against Israel, stating, “Eighty years ago, the Jewish people were defenseless. Today, we are no longer helpless…we will do whatever is necessary to defeat our enemies.”

Netanyahu added, in reference to Hamas, that “No decision, no resolution can prevent us from settling the score with these despicable, terrible barbarians, who are as bad as the Nazis, who kidnapped, murdered and raped our loved ones.”

issued a statement acknowledging that the immense loss of life during the Holocaust can never be fully understood, while also noting that “even in the wake of the Holocaust, a self-determined Jewish homeland rose from the ashes as the modern State of Israel.”

He also stated that “Sadly, our nation has borne witness to the worst outbreak of antisemitism on American soil in generations…Jewish Americans were threatened on our streets and in our public square – a reminder that tragically still exists.” following the October 7th attack.

President Isaac Herzog pledged during the main remembrance event that another genocide against the Jewish people would never be allowed.

Herzog said, “From this mountain of memory, Yad Vashem, we declare: We will not forget, we will not forgive and we will not remain silent. Not in the face of Hamas, not in the face of Iran, and not in the face of those who wish us harm – whether with missiles, machetes, or lies.”

During the event, 93-year-old Holocaust survivor Gad Fartouk lit one of six memorial torches and recited a prayer for the hostages’ return.

On Thursday, Herzog traveled to Poland to lead the March of the Living at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. This year’s march included 80 survivors aged 80 to 97, many of whom were liberated from Nazi death camps, and a delegation of 10 freed hostages.

said, “We will never forget or forgive the horrors of the Holocaust…every representative who has come here from the Oct. 7 delegation is a triumph of light for the Jewish people, and a reminder that the Jewish people will exist for eternity,” He is marching in memory of his brother Yossi, whose body remains held in Gaza.

He added, “The Jewish people sanctify life, not death. We come here with the hope that the covenant between the state and its citizens will be honored – that all the hostages will return, both the living to their homes and the fallen to a proper burial.”

Families of those killed or held captive, as well as relatives of those lost during the 18-month war, also participated.

Merrill Eisenhower Atwater, great-grandson of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who led the Allied effort to liberate Europe, was among the participants. This year’s March specifically honored the Allied forces who liberated the Nazi camps 80 years ago.

According to official data, approximately 120,000 Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Israel are still living, with about 13,000 having died in the past year. Around 2,500 survivors were affected by Hamas’ October 7th attacks, with most being evacuated to safety.

A recent report, “Vanishing Witnesses: An Urgent Analysis of the Declining Population of Holocaust Survivors,” projects that only half of these survivors will be alive in six years, with approximately 66,250 (30%) remaining in 2035. By 2040, only about 22,080 survivors will remain.

Yom Hashoah, established in 1951, is observed annually in Israel on the 27th of Nissan (April or May), with ceremonies, programs, and survivor testimonies held in Jewish communities worldwide.