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The British broadcaster engaged in a "serious breach" of industry standards by failing to disclose that the presenter of a film about the Gaza situation was the child of a Hamas administrator, according to British broadcasting authority Ofcom.

An investigation by the media regulator into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the documentary was "substantially inaccurate".

The BBC's director general had already issued an apology, stating there had been "a serious error in relation to truthfulness".

The authority has directed the BBC to air a prime-time announcement about its findings.

"As this represents a major infringement of our rules, we are instructing the corporation to transmit a announcement of our findings against it on BBC Two at 9pm, with a timing to be finalised," the regulator stated.

'Risk to Erode Trust'

The watchdog's report stated: "The inquiry we conducted concluded that the documentary's omission to reveal that the narrator's male guardian served in a post in the Hamas-run government was significantly deceptive.

"It meant that the viewers did not have essential details which may have been highly relevant to their evaluation of the presenter and the details he presented.

"Trust is at the core of the connection between a television network and its viewers, especially for a state-funded media outlet such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.

"This oversight had the risk to undermine the exceptionally strong levels of credibility that audiences would have invested in a BBC factual programme about the conflict in Gaza."

The film was pulled from the online platform in last February after the presenter's familial connections emerged, and in July an corporation's own inquiry found it breached the broadcaster's journalistic standards on accuracy.

A BBC spokesperson commented: "The regulator's decision is in agreement with the results of the internal assessment, that there was a significant failing in the documentary in relation to the corporation's content standards on truthfulness, which reflects Rule 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.

"We expressed regret for this and we agree with the regulator's ruling in full. We will comply with the directive as soon as the schedule and wording are finalised."