Hamas hailed the UN top court's ruling Friday that Israel must immediately halt its offensive in Rafah but criticised its decision to exclude the rest of war-torn Gaza from the order.

The Palestinian militant group "welcomes the decision of the International Court of Justice", it said in a statement, adding however that it expected the ICJ ruling to "put an end to the aggression and genocide against our people throughout the Gaza Strip, and not just in Rafah".

"What is happening in Jabalia and other parts of this (northern) sector is no less criminal and dangerous than what's happening in Rafah," it said.

It was Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Gaza, that triggered the Gaza war.

The Islamist group, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, called on the "international community and the United Nations to put pressure on the (Israeli) occupation to comply immediately with this decision."

It said the world body had a "historical responsibility to see that the principle of international justice is respected."

Rulings of the Hague-based ICJ are legally binding but lack direct enforcement mechanisms.

The court ordered Israel to "immediately halt its military offensive" in Rafah and to keep "open the Rafah crossing for unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance".