LONDON: The Archbishop of Canterbury spoke about the impact of the Israel-Hamas war on children in his Christmas Day sermon, the BBC reported on Monday.

“This year, the skies of Bethlehem are full of fear rather than angels and glory,” Justin Welby said during a service at Canterbury Cathedral.

He drew parallels between the hardships faced by children in the region today and the turbulent times of Jesus’ birth.

“Today a crying child is in a manger somewhere in the world, nobody willing or able to help his parents, or her parents, who so desperately need shelter,” Welby said. “Or perhaps lying in an incubator, in a hospital low on electricity, like the Anglican Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza, surrounded by suffering and death.

“Or maybe the newborn lies in a house that still bears the marks of the horrors of Oct. 7, with family members killed, and a mother who counted her life as lost.”

The archbishop highlighted the importance of service over dominance in addressing global challenges such as climate change, terrorism, economic disparity, antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism.

God “confronts our cruelty with his compassion” and “responds to our selfishness with service,” Welby said.

He shared his experience of visiting a US church that collects guns off the streets and mentioned wearing a cross made from a melted-down automatic rifle, symbolizing hope and life.

“The angels cry, they cry out for peace — and let our voices join with theirs in prayer for such peace; for a cessation of violence, for the relief of such suffering, and for the release of hostages,” Welby said.

Earlier in October, the archbishop spent four days in Jerusalem to show solidarity “with the Christian community in the Holy Land” after Israel reportedly bombed the Anglican-run Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza.

Palestinian Christians had slammed his remarks on the Israel-Hamas war, accusing him of “relegating” their plight behind “British domestic political and ecumenical considerations.”