Ireland files declaration it will join International Court of Justice genocide case against Israel

Ireland has submitted a declaration to join South Africa's genocide case against Israel, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Tuesday.

"Ireland, invoking Article 63 of the Statute of the Court, filed in the Registry of the Court a declaration of intervention in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip," or South Africa versus Israel, the court said in a statement.

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin announced last month that they would join the case after they secured government approval for the move under the Genocide Convention.

Under Article 63, any state party to a convention that is under judicial consideration has the right to intervene, making the ICJ's interpretation of that convention binding on them as well.

In December 2023, South Africa filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel, claiming violations of the Genocide Convention in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Several countries have since joined the case, including Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, Spain, and Türkiye.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since a Hamas attack in October 2023 despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 46,000 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed and over 105,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.