Disruption in the strategic waterway has roiled global economies.
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan earlier this month failed to reach a peace deal. On Tuesday, Trump announced he was extending the ceasefire and continuing the blockade until Iran's proposal is submitted and discussions are concluded "one way or the other."
U.S. Central Command said in a post to X on Wednesday night that it had directed 31 vessels "to turn around or return to port" as part of the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping.
-ABC News' Kevin Shalvey
A Lebanese journalist was among those killed in strikes on a town in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, Lebanese officials said, while accusing Israel of targeting journalists.
Amal Khalil and her colleague, Zeinab Faraj, had taken shelter in a nearby house following a strike on Al-Tayri, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a statement published by the country's official National News Agency (NNA). The health ministry said the house was targeted in a second strike.
Rescuers arrived on scene and transported Faraj, who was injured, and the bodies of two others to a hospital, the health ministry said. The first responders were unable to rescue Khalil because Israeli forces "obstructed the humanitarian mission, firing a stun grenade at the ambulance and targeting it with gunfire," according to the health ministry.
The Lebanese Red Cross later announced that it had found Khalil's body beneath the rubble, according to NNA. Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos also confirmed Khalil's death, saying in a social media post: "Targeting journalists is a heinous crime and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, which we will not tolerate."
When asked for comment, the Israel Defense Forces referred ABC News to an earlier statement that said it carried out airstrikes targeting individuals who had violated the ceasefire and approached Israeli troops "in a manner that posed an immediate threat to their safety."
The IDF noted in the statement: "Reports were received that two journalists were injured as a result of the strikes. The IDF is not preventing rescue teams from reaching the area. The details of the incident are under review."
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Khalil was a reporter for Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar and Faraj is a freelance photojournalist. Both were on assignment at the time of the attack, it said.
Dramatic video broadcast on Iranian state TV purportedly shows Iranian forces seizing two commercial ships.
In the footage, speed boats are seen racing toward the massive vessels, MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, which the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy accused of "attempting to secretly exit the Strait of Hormuz."
Masked soldiers are seen climbing up to the deck of one of the ships while brandishing long guns.
Both vessels were transferred to Iranian territorial waters "in order to examine the cargo and documents," the IRGC Navy said.
ABC News verified with satellite imagery that the two vessels were near one another early Wednesday morning off the coast of Iran.
The Senate rejected an Iran war powers resolution for the fifth time on Wednesday.
The resolution, which needed 51 votes to advance, failed by a vote of 46-51. As with previous votes, Sen. Rand Paul was the lone Republican to vote for the resolution and Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote against it.
Democrats have vowed to continually bring up war power resolutions that direct the "removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress" as long as the conflict continues.
-ABC News' Allison Pecorin
