The British broadcaster engaged in a "significant breach" of broadcasting rules by not revealing that the narrator of a film about the Gaza situation was the child of a Hamas representative, according to British broadcasting authority Ofcom.
An investigation by the broadcasting watchdog into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the film was "materially misleading".
The BBC's director general had earlier expressed regret, saying there had been "a significant failing in relation to truthfulness".
Ofcom has instructed the BBC to broadcast a evening statement about its findings.
"As this represents a serious breach of our code, we are ordering the BBC to broadcast a statement of our determinations against it on BBC Two at 21:00, with a timing to be finalised," the regulator stated.
'Possibility to Damage Credibility'
The watchdog's report stated: "Our probe found that the film's omission to reveal that the narrator's father served in a position in the Hamas-administered authority was significantly deceptive.
"This implied that the audience did not have vital facts which may have been highly relevant to their assessment of the narrator and the information he shared.
"Trust is at the center of the relationship between a media organization and its viewers, especially for a state-funded media outlet such as the BBC.
"This oversight had the risk to undermine the exceptionally strong amounts of confidence that the public would have put in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Israel-Gaza war."
The programme was withdrawn from the BBC's streaming service in February after the boy's familial connections emerged, and in July an broadcaster's internal assessment concluded it breached the broadcaster's journalistic standards on truthfulness.
A corporation official said: "The Ofcom ruling is in line with the conclusions of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a significant failing in the film in relation to the broadcaster's journalistic policies on truthfulness, which corresponds to regulation 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We expressed regret for this and we accept the regulator's ruling in complete. We will adhere to the directive as soon as the date and language are confirmed."
