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As Ireland plans to formally join South Africa's genocide case against Israel later this month, the country's deputy prime minister said it will be asking the International Court of Justice to broaden its interpretation of genocide.

Speaking after Wednesday's cabinet meeting, Micheal Martin expressed concern that "a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimised".

The Irish government says their view of the genocide convention is "broader" and "prioritises the protection of civilian life".

Martin also said there has been "collective punishment of the Palestinian people" through Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed at least 44,835 people and displaced the vast majority of the population. 

The deputy prime minister also added that Ireland will also join Gambia's case against Myanmar's genocide case under the same convention.

"Intervening in both cases demonstrates the consistency of Ireland's approach to the interpretation and application of the Genocide Convention," Martin said.

The Genocide Convention, which was signed in 1948, criminalises genocide and defines it as "intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group".

The acts that constitute genocide fall into five categories, which include killing members of a group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of a group and deliberately inflicting on the group's conditions to bring physical destruction.

South Africa bought its case accusing Israel of genocide in December 2023, with a landmark ruling of genocide to be "plausible" in January.

Israel has disputed the allegations, calling the allegation "baseless" and claiming it has abided by international law and is doing its best to avoid civilian casualties.

South Africa has accused Israel of ignoring the court's ruling and continuing to relentless bomb the besieged enclave, prevent emergency aid from reaching civilians and targeting healthcare workers and journalists. 

Earlier this month, Amnesty International published a damning report which concluded that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. 

The report contained evidence of grave atrocities and outlined how Israel carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.

"Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them," Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International said in a statement.

The rights organisation also said they analysed the overall pattern of Israeli actions in Gaza, including reviewing genocidal statements by Israeli officials.

In addition to the ICJ ruling, the International Criminal Court last month issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes committed in Gaza