JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The burial site of an Israeli soldier killed at a British detention camp in Cyprus in 1948 has been identified nearly 78 years after his death, the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday.

The soldier, Shlomo Haimson, was killed by British guards while attempting to escape the Karaolos detention camp on Sept. 29-30, 1948. His remains were initially buried at a Jewish cemetery in the Cypriot town of Margo.

Haimson was born in Romania in 1930. After World War II, in which he lost his father, he decided to immigrate to what was then British-controlled Palestine with his mother, Ita, and his girlfriend, Perla, aboard the illegal immigrant ship Pan York-Kibbutz Galuyot. The British intercepted the ship and deported its passengers to Cyprus.

While in the detention camp, Haimson joined the “Defenders’ Ranks,” a Haganah-affiliated group that trained detainees for military service in Israel.

In September 1948, Haimson learned that his daughter, Miriam, had been born. He decided to escape the camp and make his way to Israel.

He joined eight other detainees in an attempt to break through the camp’s fences. British guards discovered the group and opened fire. Haimson was killed, while the others were captured and returned to the camp.

He was buried the following day in the Jewish cemetery in Margo. His grave carried no identifying inscription because those responsible for the burial did not have sufficient information about him.

In November 1970, Israel conducted what became known as “Operation Margo,” bringing 163 sets of remains from the cemetery in Cyprus to Israel. About 120 of those buried were unidentified. They were reburied in a special section of the Kfar Samir cemetery in Haifa, most as unknown dead.

The effort to identify the graves began in 2010 after Amir Rogel, one of the founders of the Cyprus Detainees Association, launched a project to identify those buried there and restore their names to their graves.

A special investigative team was established by the IDF’s missing-persons branch in 2023. Investigators examined archival documents from around the world, collected testimony, analyzed historical photographs and conducted archaeological surveys.

The investigation, carried out with the Military Rabbinate, concluded that Haimson was among those transferred from Margo to Israel in 1970 and was buried in grave No. 11, row 2, in the Cyprus detainees section of the Haifa cemetery.

The IDF said the head of its Manpower Directorate approved the findings and authorized a gravestone bearing Haimson’s name.

Haimson’s daughter, Miriam, along with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The family was informed of the identification Tuesday evening at their home in the presence of Israel’s military attaché to Brazil, Col. Uri Ron, and senior IDF and Defense Ministry officials.

A state-military ceremony will be held in Israel in the coming period, when Haimson’s descendants are expected to attend and his name will be added to his grave.

“Seventy-eight years have passed since Shlomo Haimson fell in the deportation camp,” said Brig. Gen. Edna Ilya, head of the IDF Personnel and Casualty Directorate. She said the identification demonstrated Israel’s continuing commitment to its fallen soldiers and their families.

Haimson’s family expressed gratitude to the investigators and said that knowing his story, including his determination to reach Israel after learning of his daughter’s birth, now has a permanent place of remembrance.