Israel marks Holocaust remembrance day with somber ceremony

Visitors pray before their tour at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Sunday, April 23, 2017. Israel is marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day beginning at sunset Sunday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) (The Associated Press)

People visit Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Sunday, April 23, 2017. Israel is marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day beginning at sunset Sunday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) (The Associated Press)

People visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Sunday, April 23, 2017. Israel is marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day beginning at sunset Sunday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) (The Associated Press)

Israel is marking its annual Holocaust remembrance day in memory of the 6 million Jews systematically killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II.

It is one of the most melancholy days on Israel's calendar.

Cafes and other places of entertainment shut down while TV and radio stations broadcast documentaries about the Holocaust from Sunday evening until commemorations end at sundown the next day.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials are attending the main ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.

On Monday morning, Israel mostly comes to a two-minute standstill to remember the dead when sirens wail prompting people to stop in their tracks and motorists to pull over and stand still outside their vehicles with their heads bowed in silence.