Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced the allocation of NIS 50 million to Holocaust survivors living in Israel.

The decision was announced on Sunday to coincide with Yom Hashoah.

"We have a deep obligation to the elderly in general and to Holocaust survivors in particular. First of all to their welfare and also to their security," he told the cabinet during the weekly meeting.

"These people survived the horrors of the Holocaust. They participated in Israel's wars. They built the state of Israel.

"We are giving today and we will add whatever is necessary."

Mr Netanyahu also announced plans to increase the pharmaceutical budget with an additional NIS 15 million, which will help the elderly.

Finance Minister Yair Lapid said that an extra NIS 400 million would be distributed to agencies that assist Holocaust survivors over the next three years.