Bold new plan to bring ISIS brides back to Australia

A Western Sydney doctor involved in a failed attempt to extract ISIS brides and children from a Syrian detention camp says a newly formed 'brains trust' is quietly working on fresh plans to bring them home.

Dr Jamal Rifi, who travelled to Syria last month as part of an effort to repatriate 11 Australian women and their 23 children, said the push to return the families is far from over, despite the collapse of the initial mission and escalating conflict in the region.

Speaking from Lebanon this week, Dr Rifi said the families remain trapped at the al‑Roj camp in northeastern Syria, where thousands linked to the Islamic State are held in harsh conditions.

'They are in a waiting game,' he told The Sunday Telegraph.

'We have a plan A with about a 90 per cent chance of success, and plans B and C, which are riskier and more difficult. But their safety - getting them home - is our priority.'

Dr Rifi was one of four Australians who travelled to Damascus in February, carrying 35 passports in the hope of securing the group's release. 

The mission failed, triggering a political storm in Australia. Days later, regional tensions intensified as the conflict between Israel, Hezbollah and other armed groups escalated, further narrowing options for extraction.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese swiftly ruled out government involvement, saying he had 'no sympathy' for women who travelled to ISIS territory during the height of the caliphate.

'They went there to support an organisation that sought to destroy our way of life,' he said at the time.

Dr Rifi said the crisis inside the camp is worsening, and he continues to provide remote medical support, including advising on a recent tooth extraction that required antibiotics. 

He said neither the federal government nor Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke had any involvement in February's attempt, adding: 'We knew they weren't offering help.'

Syrian airspace remains closed and Gulf transit routes have been disrupted, making any organised operation exceedingly difficult. 

Dr Rifi, currently in his hometown of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, said the 'brains trust', a small advisory group with regional and logistical expertise, is assessing alternative pathways, though their feasibility depends on the war in the region.

Last month, the federal government confirmed families linked to ISIS may return to Australia 'by their own means' but will receive no assistance or official repatriation. 

The policy was confirmed during a Senate estimates hearing on February 10.

Opposition Home Affairs spokesperson Jonathon Duniam condemned the policy as a 'gross neglect of national security', saying the government had left the return of 'a dangerous cohort' to third parties.

'For the sake of national security, the government must take control of this situation before it's too late,' he said.

For now, the women and children remain stranded - caught between war, geopolitics and a deeply divided Australia still debating whether they should ever be allowed to return.