Hamas says that reports that the militant group has dropped a key demand during ongoing discussions for a cease-fire deal are inaccurate, a senior Hamas official said.

The official said the militant group - which controlled Gaza before triggering the war with an Oct. 7 attack on Israel - has not dropped the demand that Israel give an up-front commitment for a complete end to the war.

The Hamas official's remarks come a day after the Associated Press, citing a Hamas and an Egyptian official, reported about the apparent compromise. The AP said that while it could set the stage for further talks to end the devastating nine months of fighting, all sides cautioned that a deal is still not guaranteed.

The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, told the Associated Press that Washington's phased deal would first include a "full and complete" six-week cease-fire that would see the release of a number of hostages, including women, older people and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. During the 42 days, Israeli forces would withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza and allow the return of displaced people to their homes in northern Gaza, the officials said.

Over that period, Hamas, Israel and mediators would negotiate the terms of the second phase that could see the release of the remaining male hostages, both civilians and soldiers, the officials said. In return, Israel would free additional Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The third phase would see the return of any remaining hostages, including bodies of dead captives, and the start of a years-long reconstruction project.

Hamas still wants "written guarantees" from mediators that Israel will continue to negotiate a permanent cease-fire deal once the first phase goes into effect, the officials said.

The Hamas representative told The Associated Press the group's approval came after it received "verbal commitments and guarantees" from the mediators that the war won't be resumed and that negotiations will continue until a permanent cease-fire is reached.

"Now we want these guarantees on paper," he said.

In line with previous proposals, the deal would see around 600 trucks of humanitarian aid entering Gaza daily — including 50 fuel trucks — with half of them bound for the hard-hit northern of the enclave, the two officials said. Following Israel's assault on the southernmost city of Rafah, aid supplies entering Gaza have been reduced to a trickle.

Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas' October attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250. Israel says Hamas is still holding about 120 hostages — about a third of them now thought to be dead.

Since then, the Israeli air and ground offensive has killed more than 38,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The offensive has caused widespread devastation and a humanitarian crisis that has left hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of famine, according to international officials.