The British broadcaster committed a "significant breach" of media regulations by omitting to mention that the presenter of a documentary about the Gaza situation was the son of a Hamas administrator, according to regulatory body Ofcom.
An inquiry by the media regulator into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the film was "significantly deceptive".
The chief executive of the broadcaster had earlier expressed regret, noting there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy".
The regulator has instructed the broadcaster to broadcast a peak-time declaration about its decisions.
"As this represents a major infringement of our rules, we are instructing the broadcaster to transmit a announcement of our findings against it on BBC Two at 9pm, with a date to be determined," it said.
'Possibility to Undermine Confidence'
The watchdog's statement said: "Our investigation found that the documentary's omission to reveal that the voice's parent occupied a position in the Hamas-run administration was significantly deceptive.
"It meant that the audience did not have vital facts which may have been extremely pertinent to their judgment of the narrator and the content he presented.
"Trust is at the center of the relationship between a media organization and its public, notably for a state-funded media outlet such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.
"This error had the risk to damage the significantly high levels of credibility that viewers would have invested in a factual film from the broadcaster about the Israel-Gaza war."
The film was withdrawn from the BBC's streaming service in last February after the boy's familial connections came to light, and in July an internal BBC review concluded it breached the organization's journalistic standards on truthfulness.
A BBC spokesperson commented: "The regulator's decision is in accordance with the results of the internal assessment, that there was a serious error in the programme in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on accuracy, which aligns with Rule 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.
"We have apologised for this and we comply with Ofcom's decision in complete. We will adhere to the directive as soon as the timing and wording are confirmed."
