The public service broadcaster engaged in a "major breach" of media regulations by failing to disclose that the presenter of a programme about the Gaza conflict was the child of a Hamas representative, according to UK media regulator Ofcom.
An probe by the broadcasting watchdog into the programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the programme was "substantially inaccurate".
The BBC's director general had earlier expressed regret, saying there had been "a serious error in relation to factual correctness".
Ofcom has instructed the broadcaster to broadcast a prime-time statement about its findings.
"As this represents a serious breach of our rules, we are directing the BBC to air a announcement of our conclusions against it on BBC2 at 21:00, with a schedule to be determined," it said.
'Risk to Damage Credibility'
The regulator's announcement declared: "Our investigation determined that the documentary's lack of disclosure that the presenter's father served in a position in the Hamas-run administration was materially misleading.
"This implied that the viewers did not have vital facts which may have been highly relevant to their judgment of the voice and the content he shared.
"Credibility is at the heart of the bond between a media organization and its public, notably for a state-funded media outlet such as the public broadcaster.
"This error had the potential to damage the very considerable levels of confidence that audiences would have placed 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The programme was withdrawn from the BBC's streaming service in February after the narrator's family links emerged, and in the month of July an broadcaster's internal assessment concluded it infringed the organization's content policies on truthfulness.
A corporation official stated: "The authority's determination is in line with the results of the corporation's inquiry, that there was a significant failing in the programme in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on accuracy, which reflects clause 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.
"We expressed regret for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in full. We will adhere to the sanction as soon as the schedule and wording are confirmed."
