DIBBINE, Lebanon: Israel's air force carried out strikes in several areas of southern Lebanon on June 5, and the military told people in nine villages to evacuate. One of these villages had mostly avoided damage and had been sheltering thousands displaced by the three-month war.

According to the state news agency, nine people were killed in six different locations.

The warnings forced hundreds of families to flee places like Anqoun and Aarnaya, near the mainly Christian town of Maghdoucheh, close to the port city of Sidon. In other areas, some residents began returning home to see the damage after fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah.

Large parts of southern Lebanon have already been badly damaged. Reporters saw several villages in ruins, including Dibbine near Marjayoun, where Israeli troops had withdrawn the day before.

This was the first time Israeli forces pulled out of an area in southern Lebanon since the war began in early March. U.N. peacekeepers and Lebanese soldiers were clearing debris and reopening roads, but the Lebanese army blocked one entrance with barbed wire, stopping residents from returning.

Some people still came to look for their homes. One family searched through rubble, while a petrol station owner checked his destroyed property from behind the barrier.

Israel has warned residents not to return yet, saying the area is still dangerous.

The ceasefire deal says Lebanon's army should take control of these areas and keep militants out. However, Hezbollah has rejected the agreement, insisting that Israel must fully withdraw.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who supports Hezbollah and is acting as a mediator, repeated this demand. He said Hezbollah would leave areas south of the Litani River only if Israeli forces also withdrew.

The Litani River lies about 30 km north of the Israeli border and marks a U.N.-set buffer zone where Hezbollah is not allowed. Israeli troops have moved beyond this line into southern Lebanon.

Berri said the ceasefire should fully apply to land, sea, and air, and criticized the widespread destruction caused by Israeli forces.

The conflict in Lebanon, where Israel has controlled large areas since March 2, is affecting wider efforts to end the war with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global trade in oil and other goods.

Iran has said any long-term ceasefire must include Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces elections later this year, wants to continue military action until Hezbollah is no longer a threat.

In a separate development, the U.S. military said its forces boarded an oil tanker linked to Iran in the Indian Ocean. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the ship, called MT Davina, was intercepted but gave few details.

The U.S. has been trying to stop Iran from earning money through oil exports and has been blocking ships linked to Tehran or carrying supplies for it.

The U.S. Navy has also set up a blockade of Iran's ports to pressure Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and agree to extend a fragile ceasefire.