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The BBC engaged in a "major breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the narrator of a programme about Gaza was the child of a Hamas representative, according to British broadcasting authority Ofcom.

An probe by the broadcasting watchdog into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has determined that the programme was "significantly deceptive".

The chief executive of the broadcaster had earlier expressed regret, noting there had been "a significant failing in relation to truthfulness".

Ofcom has directed the broadcaster to air a prime-time statement about its findings.

"Given this constitutes a serious breach of our rules, we are directing the broadcaster to air a statement of our conclusions against it on BBC2 at 9pm, with a date to be determined," the statement read.

'Possibility to Undermine Trust'

The authority's statement declared: "Our probe concluded that the programme's failure to disclose that the narrator's father served in a role in the Hamas-run administration was significantly deceptive.

"This implied that the audience did not have essential details which may have been highly relevant to their judgment of the narrator and the information he shared.

"Confidence is at the center of the bond between a television network and its audience, notably for a public service broadcaster such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.

"This oversight had the potential to erode the significantly high degrees of credibility that viewers would have invested in a documentary produced by the BBC about the conflict in Gaza."

The documentary was withdrawn from the BBC's streaming service in February after the boy's personal associations were revealed, and in the month of July an corporation's own inquiry found it infringed the corporation's content policies on factual correctness.

A BBC spokesperson said: "The authority's determination is in line with the findings of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a major oversight in the programme in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on accuracy, which corresponds to Rule 2.2 of the authority's broadcasting regulations.

"We have apologised for this and we accept the authority's determination in full. We will adhere to the directive as soon as the date and wording are finalised."