The Safra massacre, or Day of the Long Knives, occurred in the coastal town of Safra (north of Beirut) on 7 July 1980, during the Lebanese civil war, as part of Bashir Gemayel's effort to consolidate all the Christian fighters under his leadership in the Lebanese Forces. The Phalangist forces launched a surprise attack on the Tigers, a 500-man militia that was the armed force of the National Liberal Party of former Lebanese President Camille Chamoun.